TRANSPORT

Crossrail

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to announce the final funding arrangements for Crossrail.

Alistair Darling: A hybrid Bill to take powers for the construction of Crossrail was introduced into the House of Commons on 22 February 2005. We intend to bring forward proposals on the funding arrangements for Crossrail during the passage of the Bill.

Cycling Accidents

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal, (b) serious and (c) slight casualties suffered by cyclists on (i) urban roads and (ii) rural roads in each year since 2000 resulted from collisions involving (A) at least one motor vehicle, (B) no motor vehicles and (C) powered two-wheel vehicles.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Pedal cycle casualties by severity, vehicle involved and urban/rural roads -- casualties
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 
			 Severity/accidents involving Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural 
		
		
			 Fatal 
			 At least one motor vehicle 61 49 62 55 58 55 58 46 
			 No motor vehicles(1) 6 10 7 12 5 9 2 8 
			 Two-wheeled motor vehicle(2) 2 4 5 2 0 0 2 0 
			  
			 Serious 
			 At least one motor vehicle 1,868 554 1,802 545 1,672 487 1,644 479 
			 No motor vehicles(1) 119 87 115 64 101 56 95 73 
			 Two-wheeled motor vehicle(2) 29 16 37 17 33 17 37 8 
			  
			 Slight 
			 At least one motor vehicle 14,701 2,543 13,481 2,410 12,086 2,205 12,041 2,170 
			 No motor vehicles(1) 383 134 339 130 251 76 311 88 
			 Two- wheeled motor vehicle(2) 247 50 246 54 244 46 234 56 
		
	
	(1) Includes accidents involving pedal cycles, ridden horse and other non-motor vehicles.
	(2) Included in the figure for "at least one motor vehicle".

Disabled Access

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been made available to improve disabled access transport services in Tamworth.

Charlotte Atkins: Regulations introduced under Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) require that all new public service vehicles used on local and scheduled service with a carrying capacity of more than 22 passengers, and all new rail vehicles, have to be accessible to disabled people. In addition, duties under Part 3 of the DDA require service providers to take reasonable steps to provide access to transport infrastructure such as bus station and railway stations.
	On funding, the Government provide funding to improve access to public transport through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process. Local transport authorities in England outside London produce five-year LTPs, and report on progress against these plans in Annual Progress Reports (APRs). The first five-year plans were submitted in 2000. The following table details the relevant funding categories allocated to the Staffordshire Local Transport Plan area, which includes Tamworth.
	Decisions on how to target funding towards specific projects and initiatives such as those to improve public transport accessibility are made at local level.
	On access to the rail network, the SRA intends to consult on its Disability Strategy at the end of March. This will include priorities for improving accessibility at stations.
	
		Tamworth (Staffordshire) local authority -- £ million
		
			 Nature of funding 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Capital maintenance 4.55 8.68 9.32 11.64 12.80 
			 Integrated block (small schemes) 2.6 5.7 5.70 6.73 6.64 
			 Targeted bus grants(3) 0.93 1.26 1.42 1.38 1.24 
			 Total 8.08 15.64 16.44 19.75 20.68 
		
	
	(3) Includes rural bus subsidy grant and both rural and urban bus challenge funding.

Light Railways

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications for companies operating light railways of (a) the new safety regime for light railways proposed by the Health and Safety Executive and (b) the European Urban Rail Directive; and what estimate he has made of the cost to light rail operating companies of meeting each of these safety provisions.

Charlotte Atkins: The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has consulted publicly on new railway safety regulations and on a supporting regulatory impact assessment (RIA). Comments were invited from all interested parties, including the light rail industry. The Department expects to receive the HSC's final proposals and RIA shortly. The Department is currently considering its response to the European Urban Rail Directive consultation.

Motorcycle Accidents

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of (a) fatal, (b) serious and (c) slight casualties suffered by riders of powered two-wheel vehicles in (i) urban areas and (ii) rural areas occurred (A) at signal-controlled junctions, (B) at other junctions and (C) while overtaking in the last period for which figures are available.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Proportions of two-wheeled motor vehicle rider casualties:GB 2003 -- Percentage
		
			  Accident location 
			 Severity Auto traffic signal Other junctions(4) While overtaking 
		
		
			 Fatal
			 Urban 8.9 54.7 16.7 
			 Rural 0.4 34.8 14.3 
			 Serious
			 Urban 9.4 65.6 15.9 
			 Rural 1.4 43.2 14.1 
			 Slight
			 Urban 11.7 66.5 16.9 
			 Rural 2.5 50.2 12.9 
		
	
	(4) Includes junctions controlled by an authorised person, stop sign, give way sign or markings and uncontrolled junctions
	It should be noted that a two-wheeled motor vehicle rider may have been injured either at a 'signal-controlled junction' while overtaking or at an 'other junction' while overtaking, since these are not mutually exclusive.

Parliamentary Questions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the projects being undertaken by his Department in respect of which information cannot be given in answer to parliamentary questions as a result of commercial confidentiality.

Charlotte Atkins: A decision not to release information relating to any project as a result of commercial confidentiality is made on the basis of the specific request made in each parliamentary question.
	An assessment of commercial confidentiality may apply to specific elements within a project as well as to an entire project. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

Pedestrian Casualties

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrian casualties occurring on a footway in each year since 2000 resulted from a collision with a (a) motor vehicle and (b) pedal cycle.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Pedestrians injured on the footway or verge: GB 2000–03 -- Casualties
		
			  Motor vehicles Pedal cycles 
		
		
			 2000 3,445 77 
			 2001 3,504 78 
			 2002 3,432 65 
			 2003 3,453 72

Road Casualties (Children)

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of road casualties suffered by child (a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists in each year since 2000 occurred within 200 m of a school.

David Jamieson: The information requested is not available.

Transport (Hampshire)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of providing the transport infrastructure to support the proposed level of housing development for South Hampshire set out in the South East England Regional Assembly's document, The South East Plan.

Charlotte Atkins: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The consultation draft of the plan that the South East England Regional Assembly published in January 2005 does not at this stage specify the transport projects in South Hampshire that will be required to implement the plan's objectives.

Transport (Hampshire)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants were made to (a) Hampshire county council, (b) Portsmouth city council and (c) Southampton city council for (i) new transport schemes and (ii) road maintenance in each of the last five years.

Charlotte Atkins: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The total allocations over the five years, from 2000–01 to 2004–05, follow. Hampshire has been allocated a total of approximately £139.6 million—of which £53.3 million has been provided for capital road maintenance, £77.2 million for new transport schemes and £9.1 million specific grants for bus services. Portsmouth has been allocated a total of approximately £21.4 million—of which £5.7 million has been provided for capital road maintenance and £15.7 million for new transport schemes. Southampton has been allocated a total of approximately £19.4 million—of which £6.8 million has been provided for capital road maintenance, £11.9 million for new transport schemes and £0.7 million specific grants for bus services.
	The funding provided directly to the three authorities, including a breakdown by year, is shown in the following table. It has been for Hampshire county, Southampton city and Portsmouth city councils to determine exactly how the allocation should be spent, in line with their local transport plans and their priorities. The funding has been provided through a mixture of direct grants and borrowing approvals supported through revenue support grants.
	
		£ million
		
			 Nature of funding 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Hampshire county council 
			 Capital maintenance 4.388 9.870 10.524 13.303 15.221 
			 Integrated block 5.432 13.500 13.204 14.393 15.783 
			 Major schemes — — 0.750 6.654 7.500 
			 Targeted bus grants(5) 1.880 1.600 2.050 2.190 1.370 
			 Total 11.700 24.970 26.528 36.540 39.874 
			 Portsmouth city council 
			 Capital maintenance 0.579 0.803 0.835 2.296 1.149 
			 Integrated block 0.796 2.100 3.470 2.282 3.002 
			 Major schemes — — 1.200 2.888 — 
			 Targeted bus grants — — — — — 
			 Total 1.375 2.903 5.505 7.466 4.151 
			 Southampton city council 
			 Capital maintenance 0.581 1.085 1.152 1.421 2.522 
			 Integrated block 1.015 2.800 2.727 2.643 2.721 
			 Major schemes — — — — — 
			 Targeted bus grants(6) — — 0.750 — — 
			 Total 1.596 3.885 4.629 4.064 5.243 
		
	
	(5) Includes Rural Bus Subsidy Grant and both Rural and Urban Bus Challenge funding
	(6) Includes Urban Bus challenge funding

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many plants there are in the UK producing biodiesel or bioethanol using UK farmed and produced raw materials as their feedstock; what the production capacity of each is; and what new plants plan to commence production of biofuels in the UK in the next five years.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 14 March 2005
	We are aware of a number of companies that are either currently producing biofuels from UK farm-sourced raw materials or have plans to do so. The details are set out in the table provided.
	Other companies are known to be interested in establishing production facilities in the UK but are awaiting the results of the feasibility study on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and the decision on the UK's 2010 target for the use of biofuels under the Biofuels Directive.
	
		
			 Company Location Type of biofuel Capacity (in tonnes per annum) Feedstock Current situation 
		
		
			 Argent Energy Motherwell Biodiesel 45,000 Animal fats (and used cooking oil) Started operating in February 2005. Further sites may follow in a few years time 
			 Biofuels Corporation Ltd. Middlesbrough Biodiesel 250,000 Oilseed rape (and other virgin vegetable oils) Under construction 
			 Biofuels Corporation Ltd. Middlesbrough Biodiesel 250,000 Oilseed rape (and other virgin vegetable oils) Aiming to start construction in 2005 
			 Global Commodities (UK) Ltd. East of England Biodiesel 83,000 Oilseed rape Aiming to start construction in 2006. A further site may follow in a few years time 
			 Greenergy Preferred location is thought to be Humberside Biodiesel 100,000 Oilseed rape (and used cooking oil and other material) Aiming for 2005–6 
			 British Sugar King's Lynn Bioethanol 55,000 Sugar beet Planning application has been submitted

Foot and Mouth

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2005, Official Report, column 1169W, on foot and mouth, how any animals vaccinated following a future outbreak would be treated subsequently.

Ben Bradshaw: The Emergency Vaccination Protocol sets down how vaccinated animals and any meat or milk produced from them would be subject to specific restrictions. This document is on the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/footandmouth/pdf/vacprotocol.pdf, and I am also arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

Foot and Mouth

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the difference in total payments of compensation paid for (a) sheep and (b) cattle in the foot and mouth epidemic would have been if the amount paid per animal had remained the same as the amount paid per animal in February 2001.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 14 March 2005
	The difference in total payments of compensation paid for sheep would have been £254,005,966, and for cattle £367,455,967 if the amount paid per animal had remained the same as in February 2001.

Growth Areas (Funding)

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department has earmarked for growth areas to ensure that they have the resources required to meet the demands of a growing population.

Alun Michael: Defra's aim is sustainable development, ensuring that environmental, social and economic considerations are balanced and integrated. As a result most of the Department's activities benefit the locations which fall within the growth areas, either directly or indirectly. As well as Defra's own actions we can achieve a great deal by working with a variety of partners and through exerting influence on Government Departments and others.
	The key Defra policy areas which have a direct impact on growth areas include waste and recycling initiatives, flood defence works, our wide-ranging rural development programmes and regulation of the water supply industry. Funding associated with these activities has not been exclusively earmarked for growth areas, and will be part of mainstream business delivery, not specifically as a result of growth area status.
	Delivery is carried out on Defra's behalf by a number of delivery agents, including the Environment Agency, the Countryside Agency, Government Offices, local authorities, and the Rural Development Service, all of whom have a strong regional focus. We also provide support to regional development agencies, rural community councils, parish and town councils and the voluntary and community sector.
	Turning to specific policy areas, the priority for flood defence is to optimise the protection of people and the reduction in flood risk as measured by net damages from flooding in relation to the funding available. Total Government spend has risen from £312 million in 1997–98 to £478 million in the current year and £570 million for 2005–06 and the following two years. Where growth areas might have a risk of flooding, in many cases they will already have benefited from investment to protect them to a high standard, e.g. in the Thames Gateway. These defences will be subject to a renewal programme. Where further investment is needed, the development partnerships will consider provision in consultation with the Environment Agency, taking account of Planning Policy Guidance Note 25.
	The main source of funding for local authority waste management is the Environmental Protection and Cultural Services block of the central Government revenue support grant, which is allocated through the Local Government Finance Settlement using a population-based formula. Defra's waste performance and efficiency grant, which totals £255 million over the three years from 2005–06, is also allocated to all authorities using a population-based formula. Defra is currently considering mechanisms other than direct funding to assist authorities in growth areas in addressing the additional challenge they face in meeting their landfill directive obligations as a result of population growth.
	The Environment Agency is the statutory body with a duty to secure the proper use of water resources in England and Wales. The Environment Agency's Water Resources Strategy looks some 25 years ahead and considers the needs of public water supply, agriculture, commerce and industry, as well as the environment, examining the uncertainties about future water demand and availability including the potential effects of climate change and different societal values. It takes account of the Sustainable Communities Plan where the numbers and locations of housing have been defined and recognises the impact that the growth areas will have on the water supply infrastructure. It concludes with a series of actions that will provide the right amount of water for people, agriculture, commerce and industry and an improved water-related environment.

Marine Environment

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for protecting the marine environment.

Elliot Morley: We have announced in the Defra five-year strategy that we will bring forward a Marine Bill some time in the next Parliament to deliver our vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. A Marine Bill will provide the framework within which those who regulate marine activities can ensure the sustainable use and protection of our marine resources.
	We are introducing regulations later this year to extend the conservation requirements of the EU Habitats and Bird's Directives offshore, and will identify further special areas of conservation and special protection areas as part of that process.
	We are committed to having a representative and ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas in the OSPAR region by 2010.

New Rural Agency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has received from English Nature about the creation of the new agency for rural delivery; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the advice received.

Margaret Beckett: I have received, and given due weight to, advice and representations from a number of organisations and individuals about the creation of the 'Integrated Agency' from English Nature, much of the work of the Rural Development Service and the landscape, access and recreation responsibilities of the Countryside Agency. Ministers have received advice from English Nature in the form of letters from the chair and deputy chair of English Nature. As English Nature gave oral evidence to the inquiry into the Rural Strategy 2004 by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee of the House, their position on the creation of the Integrated Agency is already in the public domain. Most recently, they have welcomed the draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill published on Thursday 10 February 2005, to which they made a significant input. I am not minded to disclose the specific advice I have received as I consider to do so would be harmful to future free and frank discussions, and thus inhibit the development of good policy.

Rendering

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether animal by-product rendering is considered to be a waste process; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: A statement was made on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 106WS, that the Government had published for consultation the draft Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. The consultation paper is available in the Library of the House and on the Department's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/agwaste-regs/index.htm. The application of the waste framework directive (WFD) to waste animal by-products is discussed in paragraphs 8, 3.24–3.28 and 4.7–4.21 of the consultation paper.
	In summary, it is the Department's view that a range of animal by-products are consigned to rendering plant as waste within the meaning of the WFD and that the processing of this waste in rendering plant is a waste management operation subject to control under Articles 9 or 10 of the directive. The animal by-products which the Department has identified as waste include those which Articles 4(2), 5(2) and 6(2) of the EU Animal By-Products Regulation require to be processed in rendering plant and disposed of by incineration, co-incineration or landfilling; or recovered in biogas or composting plants.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent developments in waste product marketing by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 15 March 2005
	Defra monitors the performance of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the basis of delivery of or progress towards targets which are agreed with Government, and which are published in its business plan. The targets cover its work on market development.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the development of recycled wood products by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has a target to deliver an additional 150,000 tonnes recycling capacity for waste wood into added-value end markets by March 2006. WRAP will do this through: supporting further diversification of waste wood recycling, focusing on higher-value applications; increasing the consumption of waste wood by the panel board manufacturing industry; incentivising demand for recycled wood products by raising awareness and encouraging action among potential buyers in targeted sectors; exploiting the commercial opportunities identified by research on treated timber recycling; and, promoting the increased segregation of wood waste for recycling at household waste recycling centres, in the furniture recycling industry and during construction and demolition activities.
	Defra is monitoring WRAP's progress towards achievement of this target and will assess whether it has been met in the course of 2006.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Civil Society Challenge Fund

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many not-for-profit organisations in the UK benefit from his Department's Civil Society Challenge Fund.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In the current financial year, 2004–05, DFID is supporting 231 projects with 84 UK-based, not-for-profit organisations through our Civil Society Challenge Fund.
	Since its introduction in 2000, we have supported 339 projects with 114 UK-based, not-for-profit organisations through the fund.

Departmental Accounts

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether Ministers in his Department have issued written instructions to override his Department's accounting officer's objections since 1997.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member for Banbury to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 14 March 2005, Official Report, column 80W.

HIV/AIDS

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 55W, on HIV/AIDS, 
	(1)  how the spending of funds for HIV and AIDS orphans and vulnerable children through his Department's African country programmes will be monitored;
	(2)  what proportion of the money for HIV and AIDS orphans and vulnerable children spent through his Department's African country programmes will take the form of budget support to Governments; and how it will be monitored.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The spending target to meet the needs of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS covers the next three financial years: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08. At this stage, in advance of money being spent, we cannot predict with certainty what proportion of the money going through this Department's African country programmes will take the form of budget support to Governments, and what proportion will be spent directly on programmes. Early estimates indicate that spend through budget support will account for a relatively small proportion of the £85 million that will be spent through African Country Programmes out of the £150 million we have committed for OVCs worldwide.
	Monitoring of spend against programme, sector and budget support will be through a combination of annual Country Assistance Plan (CAP) reviews and central tracking of expenditure against Policy Information Markers relevant to HIV and AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children.

HIV/AIDS

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1639W, on HIV/AIDS (Children) which sub-Saharan African countries have drawn up national orphans and vulnerable children action plans;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2005, Official Report, column 623W, which sub-Saharan African countries have developed national action plans for orphans and vulnerable children.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Last year, UNICEF, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worked together on an initiative to focus on accelerating responses to the situation of orphans and vulnerable children. They undertook a Rapid Assessment, Analysis and Action Planning (RAAAP) exercise in 17 countries in sub-Saharan African countries with high HIV prevalence rates and orphan populations. These countries were: Botswana, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
	The RAAAP exercise consisted of three basic elements: situation analysis, response analysis, and preparation of two-year costed action plans for scaling up responses. Sixteen countries (all except Botswana) presented country profiles and plans to a UNICEF meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, last September. Uganda and Zimbabwe already had long-term plans of action. Botswana's focus was and remains the evaluation of their Short Term Plan of Action in order to develop a longer term plan in the future.
	Independently of the above, Ghana has also produced "National policy guidelines on orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS". We expect to see other plans for orphans and vulnerable children developed—whether under a second wave of the RAAAP process or independently.

Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will commission research on the impact of the separation barrier in Palestine on availability of (a) water and (b) arable land to Palestinians.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID does not plan to commission research on the impact of the separation barrier. Other donors are already active. A preliminary analysis of the barrier's revised route published by the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in March 2005 identified that some 142,640 acres (10 per cent.) of West Bank land will lie between the completed barrier and the Green Line. This is some of the most fertile land in the West Bank and currently home to 49,400 Palestinians. Thousands more Palestinians living to the east of the barrier will be separated from their land on the west. The OCHA plans to publish a more extensive technical analysis towards the end of this month. Other bodies researching this issue include the DFID-funded Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit (NSU). The NSU's work indicates that the barrier will deny Palestinian access to 25 per cent. of the 20 million cu m of groundwater currently abstracted annually from the Western Aquifer Basin, and that in the Eastern Aquifer Basin estimated losses will be in the order of 3 to 5 million cu m per year.

Vietnam

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what part his Department's aid programmes have played in the effort to reduce poverty in Vietnam.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Government of Vietnam have made rapid progress in reducing poverty in recent years and in maintaining a high rate of economic growth. The number of people living in poverty halved from 58 per cent. in 1993 to 29 per cent. in 2002 and economic growth has averaged approximately 7 per cent. per annum over the last 10 years.
	This progress is a result of the Government of Vietnam's programme of economic reform and sustained commitment to development and poverty reduction. Recognising that Vietnam is an environment in which aid works, DFID has rapidly increased its programme in Vietnam from £6 million in 2000–01 to an expected spend of £55 million in 2005–06. The DFID programme supports the Government of Vietnam's own poverty reduction and growth strategy. We work very closely with the Government and other donors to support the reform process and ensure that we achieve the maximum impact from the use of our resources. We co-finance the poverty reduction support credit with eight other donors. Key outcomes of our assistance include helping to define methods to target and reach the poor more effectively, and the development of policies in Vietnam that lead to broad-based growth and poverty reduction.
	Despite these notable successes, approximately 23 million people still live below the poverty line and an estimated 8.8 million live in hunger. DFID supports rural development programmes in the poorest regions of Vietnam such as the Northern Mountains and Central Highlands. We also support Government targeted poverty reduction programmes that include investments in roads, irrigation, village classrooms, commune health centres and clean water schemes in the poorest communes. In transport, DFID has co-financed a programme that will have built over 2,000 roads linking communes to markets in rural Vietnam by the end of 2005. Evaluations of these road programmes show positive results such as stimulating economic growth and increasing school attendance. In education, we are collaborating with Government and other donors to support the achievement of education for all objectives: 100 per cent. attendance at primary school, and 100 per cent. adult literacy.
	DFID also supports poverty reduction in Vietnam through its contributions to the European Commission development budget (currently approximately 18 per cent. of the total budget). The EC spent €28.1 million in Vietnam in 2003 (UK contribution: €5.06 million), and is committed to spend €112 million between 2004 and 2006 (UK contribution: €21.6 million).

DEFENCE

Infantry

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether the correct protocol was followed for Infantry regiments which have a non-British colonel in chief being downgraded to battalions.

Adam Ingram: I am satisfied that all issues surrounding the Future Army Structure were handled correctly.

Iraq

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medically trained staff are serving in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 10 February 2005
	There are some 335 UK medically trained staff in Iraq. We have defined these as personnel that have medical, nursing or paramedical training and whose primary role when deployed is the co-ordination or delivery of medical care.

Nuclear Proliferation Treaty Review

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his priorities are for the forthcoming Nuclear Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom's goals for the Review Conference are to make the case for stronger and more effective counter-proliferation measures and to emphasise the importance of compliance with the Treaty. We will do this in the context of emphasising the UK's good record on nuclear disarmament. The UK will produce for the Review Conference the concluding part of three reports of the studies that MOD and AWE have conducted on the verification of nuclear disarmament since the 2000 Review Conference and those involved in the studies will make a presentation on them.

Nuclear Warheads

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vehicles are available exclusively to transport nuclear materials related to the United Kingdom nuclear weapons programme.

Geoff Hoon: Ten vehicles are available to transport nuclear materials related to the United Kingdom nuclear weapons programme. This fleet comprises of two types of vehicle: the Truck Cargo Heavy Duty Mk 2, which is used to transport nuclear weapons, and the High Security Vehicle, which is used to transport Special Nuclear Materials.

Oath of Allegiance

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the wording is of the oath of allegiance which military personnel swear.

Ivor Caplin: The wording of the oath of allegiance is as follows:
	"I [name] swear by almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second, her heirs and successors and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, in person, crown and dignity against all enemies, and will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors and of the generals/air officers [depending on Service] and other officers set over me."
	Those who do not believe in God,
	"solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm . . . "

Overseas Military Training

Robert Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list countries whose armed forces received military training and advice in the United Kingdom during the period 2001 to 2004.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 14 March 2005
	During the period 2001 to 2004, armed forces of 133 countries received military training and advice from the Ministry of Defence. A complete list of countries is as follow:
	Countries whose military forces have been provided with training in the UK: Period 2001–04
	Afghanistan
	Albania
	Algeria
	Angola
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Argentina
	Armenia
	Australia
	Austria
	Azerbaijan
	Bahamas
	Bahrain
	Bangladesh
	Barbados
	Belgium
	Belize
	Bermuda
	Bhutan
	Bolivia
	Bosnia
	Botswana
	Brazil
	Brunei
	Bulgaria
	Canada
	Chile
	China
	Colombia
	Croatia
	Czech (Republic)
	Denmark
	Egypt
	Eritrea
	Estonia
	Ethiopia
	Fiji
	Finland
	France
	Gambia
	Georgia
	Germany
	Ghana
	Greece
	Grenada
	Guatemala
	Guyana
	Honduras
	Hong Kong
	Hungary
	Iceland
	India
	Indonesia
	Iraq
	Ireland
	Israel
	Italy
	Ivory Coast
	Jamaica
	Japan
	Jordan
	Kazakhstan
	Kenya
	Korea
	Kosovo
	Kuwait
	Kyrghistan
	Latvia
	Lebanon
	Lithuania
	Luxembourg
	Macedonia
	Malawi
	Malaysia
	Malta
	Mauritania
	Mauritius
	Mexico
	Moldova
	Morocco
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Nepal
	Netherlands
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Norway
	Oman
	Pakistan
	Papua New Guinea
	Paraguay
	Peru
	Philippines
	Poland
	Portugal
	Qatar
	Romania
	Russia
	Rwanda
	Saudi Arabia
	Senegal
	Serbia and Montenegro
	Sierra Leone
	Singapore
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	South Africa
	Spain
	Sri Lanka
	St. Christopher/Nevis
	St. Vincent
	Swaziland
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	Syria
	Tajikistan
	Tanzania
	Thailand
	Tonga
	Trinidad and Tobago
	Tunisia
	Turkey
	Turkmenistan
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	United Arab Emirates
	Uruguay
	USA
	Uzbekistan
	Venezuela
	Vietnam
	Yemen
	Yugoslavia
	Zambia

PFI Contracts

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the private finance initiative contracts which his Department advertised in 2004, indicating in each case whether the output specification included (a) clauses specifically relating to energy consumption and energy efficiency, (b) a requirement for relevant equipment being purchased to be on the Government's Energy Technology List, (c) a requirement to use whole life costing to assess the energy costs for new buildings or major refurbishments and (d) a requirement that new buildings or major refurbishments should be constructed to a specific energy standard; and what standard was specified in each case.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 March 2005
	No private finance contracts were advertised in 2004.

Queen's Flight

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions his Department's Ministers used the Queen's Flight in each of the past five years.

Ivor Caplin: The number of occasions Defence Ministers have used the aircraft of 32 (The Royal) Squadron in each of the past five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of occasions 
		
		
			 1999–2000 90 
			 2000–01 56 
			 2001–02 66 
			 2002–03 66 
			 2003–04 58 
		
	
	Travel by Ministers makes it clear that special flights may be authorised when a scheduled service is not available, or when it is essential to travel by air, but the requirements of official or parliamentary business or security considerations or urgency preclude the journey being made by a scheduled service. In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The list published in 1999 covers the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1999. Where RAF/Private Charter aircraft are used this is shown in the list. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2004–05 will be published in due course. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

South African Nationals

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether South African nationals who are serving officers in the British Army are eligible to remain in the British Army while applying for a British passport;
	(2)  whether South African nationals who are serving officers in the British Army and are married to British citizens are eligible to remain in the British Army while applying for a British passport.

Adam Ingram: Regulations allow for citizens of any Commonwealth country to apply to join the British Army. Once serving it would be for the individual to decide whether he or she wished to apply to the Home Office for naturalisation as a British citizen.
	On making an application for naturalisation, an officer may continue to serve in the Army for so long as their commission allows. If an officer's commission comes to an end during the process of making an application, this will not influence any decision to extend their service. A commission will only be extended when it is in the Army's interests to do so. Marital status has no bearing on such matters.

Spearhead Regiment

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the spearhead regiment is fully equipped (a) at present and (b) for the next regiment to take over.

Adam Ingram: I have assumed that the hon. Lady is referring to the Spearhead Land Element (SLE), a Very High Readiness (VHR) Battalion Group (based on a light infantry battalion) whose role is to deploy at short notice to conduct a wide range of demanding, non-warfighting tasks. I can confirm that the current and future nominated SLE battalions are both fully equipped to undertake the task as SLE.

Strensham Heliport

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 1342W, on near air misses, if he will instruct the Royal Air Force to cease flying over Strensham Heliport until he has had the opportunity to assess the findings of his investigations into the near air misses on 14 December 2004 and 9 February 2005.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 14 March 2005
	There are at present no grounds on which we feel it appropriate to create an exclusion zone at the Strensham helicopter landing site. The site has, however, been marked as a warning on low flying charts. The position will be reviewed when the results of the UK Airprox Board investigations are known.

Surface Combatants

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Medium Versatile Surface Combatant and its relationship to the Future Surface Combatant programme.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 7 March 2005
	The Future Surface Combatant project is still in its concept phase. Studies continue to develop ideas for the platform solution and no decisions have been taken. Our current assumption for planning purposes is that the Future Surface Combatant requirement will be delivered by a two-class solution. The principal element, now known as the Versatile Surface Combatant, is expected to enter service around 2023, and a 'Military Off The Shelf' variant known as the Medium Sized Vessel Derivative is expected to enter service between 2016–19.

Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken by the Government to comply with the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom is fully committed to and in full compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), including under Article VI, and has a good record on disarmament. We have reduced the total explosive power of our nuclear forces by over 70 per cent. since the end of the Cold War and in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review we announced that only one Trident submarine would be on deterrent patrol at any one time. That submarine would normally be on several days' notice to fire with its missiles de-targeted. We have conducted studies on the verification of nuclear disarmament since the Review Conference in 2000 and will report the concluding part of our findings to the NPT Review Conference this May. The UK has ratified and continues to support the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty without further delay and without preconditions.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Attorney-General

Simon Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the document from the Attorney-General considered by the Cabinet on 17 March 2003 relating to the legality of the war in Iraq is a paper under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Harriet Harman: The Attorney-General attended Cabinet on 17 March 2003 and reported that he had answered a parliamentary question on the authority for the use of force in Iraq. He produced the text of that answer for Cabinet, made an oral presentation and was present throughout to answer questions. Paragraph 23 of the Ministerial Code is not relevant in circumstances where the Law Officer provides his advice in person.

HEALTH

Bed Occupancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from (a) healthcare professionals and (b) other interested parties on the optimal levels of bed occupancy.

John Hutton: No recent representations have been received from healthcare professionals on the optimum levels of bed occupancy.
	I have received written representation from my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe), following the Public Expenditure 2004 Health Committee on 8 December 2004. In addition, right hon. and hon. Members have tabled parliamentary questions on a range of bed occupancy issues.

Cancelled Operations (Statistics)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in (a) 1979, (b) 1997 and (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Data for 1979 is not available. Data from 1996–97 to the third quarter of 2004–05 is available on the Department's website at www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.

Cleaning and Hygiene

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on the "Cleanyourhands" programme.

Melanie Johnson: After the success of the pilot "Cleanyourhands" programme, the Department is providing the National Patient Safety Agency with £490,000 to roll out the programme across the national health service; less than £3,000 per acute NHS trust.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole-time equivalent NHS dentists there have been per head of population in each year since 1997; and how many were offering NHS treatment in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 February 2005
	The available information is shown in the following tables.
	
		Table 1: Headcount dentists per head of population by NHS region and strategic health authority
		
			  NHS dentists per head of population (10,000) 
			 Strategic health authority 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004(7) 
		
		
			 In England 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.31 
			   
			 Eastern Cluster 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.92 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.8 5.14 
			 Essex 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.76 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.40 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.94 
			 Trent 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.58 
			  
			 London Cluster 4.9 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.29 
			 North Central London 5.5 5.6 5.8 6,0 6.0 5.7 5.9 6.02 
			 North-east London 3.6 3.9 3.8 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.34 
			 North-west London 6.1 6.4 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.98 
			 South-east London 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.4 4.72 
			 South-west London 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.45 
			 North-east Cluster 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.81 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.59 
			 North and east Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.75 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 4.03 
			 South Yorkshire 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.85 
			 West Yorkshire 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.80 
			  
			 North-west and West Midlands Cluster 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.99 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.84 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.27 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.82 
			 Greater Manchester 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.93 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.68 
			 West Midlands South 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.8 4.0 4.36 
			  
			 Southern Cluster 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.63 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.45 
			 Dorset and Somerset 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.31 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.16 
			 Kent and Medway 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.99 
			 South-west Peninsula 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.50 
			 Surrey and Sussex 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.36 
			 Thames Valley 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.7 5.08 
		
	
	(7) Population data is 2003 figures as 2004 data is not available yet.
	Notes:
	1. This is a file containing the numbers of dentists as at 31 December from 1997 to 2004.
	2. The figures are based on the numbers of dentists with open general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) contracts.
	3. The dentists include principals, assistants and trainees.
	4. Prison contracts have not been included in this analysis.
	5. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the specified area.
	6. The figures provide a snapshot of the number of individual dentists with an open contract at 31 December.
	7. A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT.
	8. The Dental Practice Board has no information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists.
	9. The figures provide an accurate figure taking into account any notifications received up to 31 January 2005.
	10. As data is not available by whole time equivalent, headcount has been used to determine the number of national health service dentists per head of population in the table.
	11. Areas have been defined using the Office of National Statistics All Fields Postcode Directory—November 2004.
	
		Table 2: Number of dental practices that offer NHS treatments to new patients as at 15 February 2005 by NHS region and strategic health authorities strategic health authorities
		
			  Number of dentist practices accepting NHS patients as at 15 February 2005 (a practice can be represented in more than one category) 
			 Strategic health authorities Providing occasional NHS treatment to non registered patients Registering charge exempt adults for NHS treatment Registering charge paying adults for NHS treatment Registering children aged 0 to 18 years for NHS treatment 
		
		
			 In England 1,433 2,762 2,414 3,702 
			   
			 Eastern Cluster 200 457 411 689 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire strategic HA 54 163 126 216 
			 Essex strategic HA 74 98 94 141 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 17 55 57 74 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic 22 71 67 142 
			 Trent strategic HA 33 70 67 116 
			  
			 London Cluster 454 943 804 1088 
			 North central London strategic HA 83 139 128 173 
			 North-east London strategic HA 121 188 174 199 
			 North-west London strategic HA 101 294 252 340 
			 South-east London strategic HA 64 175 131 195 
			 South-west London strategic HA 85 147 119 181 
			  
			 North-east Cluster 200 357 329 423 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley strategic HA 53 102 95 109 
			 North and east Yorkshire and Northern Lincoln 13 21 21 49 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear strategic HA 92 142 133 149 
			 South Yorkshire strategic HA 35 41 37 47 
			 West Yorkshire strategic HA 7 51 43 69 
			 North-west and West Midlands Cluster 425 607 544 793 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country strategic HA 159 236 199 271 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside strategic HA 146 185 181 225 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire strategic HA 16 11 8 23 
			 Greater Manchester strategic HA 80 112 103 172 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic HA 6 14 9 33 
			 West Midlands south strategic health authority 18 49 44 69 
			  
			 Southern Cluster 154 398 326 709 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire strategic HA 9 44 35 74 
			 Dorset and Somerset strategic HA 7 24 24 43 
			 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight strategic HA 27 31 30 64 
			 Kent and Medway strategic HA — 50 31 91 
			 South-west Peninsula strategic HA 5 19 17 39 
			 Surrey and Sussex strategic HA 66 161 139 240 
			 Thames Valley strategic HA 40 69 50 158 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures provide an accurate figure taking into account any notifications received up to 31 January 2005.
	2. This information relates to dentists offering at least one type of NHS treatment to at least one category of patient.

Derriford Hospital

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will permit the Vanguard Project at Derriford hospital to proceed with a single bidder with appropriate financial safeguards; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The Plymouth hospitals national health service trust is currently considering the options for the Vanguard project. The Department's private finance unit is providing support and working with the trust to discuss the next steps.

Diagnostic and Treatment Centres

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS per patient is for each contract placed by the NHS with private sector diagnostic and treatment centres; and against what NHS comparator each was assessed.

John Hutton: holding answer 7 March 2005
	Wave 1 independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) providers are paid according to the contracted payment mechanism based on a price per procedure. In 2003–04, it is estimated that procedures purchased under the ISTC programme cost on average 9 per cent. more than the national health service equivalent cost, using NHS tariff as the base for the equivalent cost calculation. We are engaged in independent sector procurement to provide choice, contestability and additional capacity to reduce waiting times.

Great North Air Ambulance Service

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Northumbria Ambulance Trust about the withdrawal of the Great North Air Ambulance Service based at Blyth.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 14 March 2005
	The Department has not had any discussion with the Northumbria Ambulance Trust about the withdrawal of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

Hepatitis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what arrangements are being made to treat the individuals in English prisons who are infected with hepatitis C;
	(2)  what measures are in place to identify the number of individuals in English prisons who are infected with hepatitis C.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 10 March 2005
	The Hepatitis C Action Plan for England (June 2004) envisages that prisoners, who are one of the priority groups identified within it, should have equal access to the full range of testing, diagnostic, assessment and treatment services that it specifies.
	Information about the number of prisoners with hepatitis C is not collected centrally. Prisons and their national health service partners draw up, and regularly review, prison health delivery plans within which prisoners' health care needs are assessed, prioritised resources allocated and delivery monitored.

Hospital-acquired Infections

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many London acute trusts undertake post-discharge surveillance for hospital acquired infections;
	(2)  which London acute trusts have separate budgets for infection control; and what those budgets are, broken down by acute trust;
	(3)  what the infection control nurses to bed ratio was in acute trusts in London on the latest date for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: This information is not available centrally.

Hospital-acquired Infections

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hospital-acquired MRSA have been reported at (a) Berwick Infirmary, (b) Alnwick Infirmary, (c) Rothbury Community Hospital and (d) Wansbeck General Hospital in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 10 March 2005
	The information is not available in the format requested. The number of reported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections for Northumbria Healthcare National Health Service Trust from April to September 2004 was 27.

Hospital-acquired Infections

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were found in (a) the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust and (b) in all hospitals in each year since 1996.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 8 March 2005
	Data for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias in national health service acute trusts has only been collected on a mandatory basis since 2001. It is published in six-monthly periods (April to September and October to March). The number reported from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust and for all acute trusts in England is shown in the table.
	
		
			  University Hospitals Leicester England 
		
		
			 April to September 2001 80 3,598 
			 October 2001 to March 2002 83 3,651 
			 April to September 2002 62 3,574 
			 October 2002 to March 2003 82 3,799 
			 April to September 2003 69 3,744 
			 October 2003 to March 2004 63 3,940 
			 April to September 2004 59 3,519 
		
	
	The figures for England for April to September 2004 show a 6.3 per cent. reduction compared with the same period for 2003.

IT Projects

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Atos Origin has been paid to date for the development and provision of the full choose and book system; and what monthly payment is currently being made to the company.

John Hutton: Total payments to date to Atos Origin relating to the development, delivery and maintenance of the core choose and book service total £15,699,795.
	A fixed monthly payment of £715,075 is made to the company for ongoing maintenance and management services.

Meat Hygiene

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meat plants with a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plan have been prosecuted for breaching UK Hygiene Regulations in each year between 2000 and 2004.

Melanie Johnson: The relevant legislation requires all licensed fresh meat and poultry meat plants in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to have hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plans in place. This requirement had to be implemented in large plants by 7 June 2002 in England, Scotland and Wales and by 15 July 2002 in Northern Ireland: and across all small plants by 7 June 2003.
	The total number of licensed fresh and poultry meat plants prosecuted under United Kingdom meat hygiene legislation with a HACCP plan in place at the time the offence occurred since this statutory requirement came into force is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Great Britain Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 2002 0 0 
			 2003 2 0 
			 2004(8) 0 1 
		
	
	(8) The figure for 2004 is provisional as a number of investigations into offences reported in 2004 have yet to be concluded.

NHS Expenditure

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2005, Official Report, column 888W, on NHS expenditure, what information on NHS regional and strategic health authority budgets since 1997 has been validated.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 February 2005
	Expenditure on administration, and total expenditure, by national health service region, at 2003–04 prices (in thousands of pounds), between 1997–98 and 2000–01, is shown in the following tables.
	
		£000
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 
			 Region Administration Total expenditure Administration Total expenditure 
		
		
			 Northern and  Yorkshire 263,680 4,530,991 269,920 4,818,392 
			 Trent 224,356 3,606,348 226,773 3,808,438 
			 West Midlands 235,256 3,697,458 239,286 3,896,059 
			 North West 297,817 4,753,555 286,100 5,080,647 
			 Eastern 199,377 3,422,432 192,784 3,611,134 
			 London 412,801 5,803,466 457,071 6,204,313 
			 South East 342,130 5,604,306 321,640 5,838,039 
			 South West 174,512 3,290,983 185,756 3,409,326 
		
	
	
		£000
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 
			 Region Administration Total expenditure Administration Total expenditure 
		
		
			 Northern and  Yorkshire 273,935 5,462,085 283,322 5,766,407 
			 Trent 219,701 4,318,500 228,082 4,532,084 
			 West Midlands 240,390 4,335,469 249,865 4,550,790 
			 North West 281,410 5,809,534 300,862 6,312,317 
			 Eastern 241,166 4,101,533 235,365 4,380,406 
			 London 474,226 7,118,785 451,201 7,705,034 
			 South East 337,815 6,703,755 363,988 7,095,852 
			 South West 192,171 3,888,130 202,218 4,372,124 
		
	
	Expenditure on administration, and total expenditure, by strategic health authority (SHA) area, at 2003–04 prices (in thousands of pounds) for 2001–02, is shown in the following table.
	
		£000
		
			  2001–02 
			 SHA area Administration Total expenditure 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 102,195 1,959,135 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 77,137 1,674,582 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 128,404 2,534,182 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 107,959 2,453,646 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 56,238 1,149,103 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 113,133 2,084,557 
			 Dorset and Somerset 57,378 1,436,201 
			 Essex 75,732 1,347,326 
			 Greater Manchester 156,273 2,605,624 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 73,430 1,706,428 
			 Kent and Medway 80,302 1,373,794 
			 Leicestershire, Northants and Rutland 54,860 1,253,267 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 119,178 1,939,973 
			 North and East Yorkshire and North  Lincolnshire 65,594 1,458,122 
			 North Central London 101,804 1,441,377 
			 North East London 94,772 1,686,092 
			 North West London 128,255 2,085,940 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 71,292 1,497,303 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 59,322 1,453,177 
			 South East London 107,193 1,736,797 
			 South West London 66,974 1,336,071 
			 South West Peninsula 64,659 1,433,649 
			 South Yorkshire 84,916 1,415,297 
			 Surrey and Sussex 126,108 2,485,046 
			 Thames Valley 109,779 1,805,204 
			 Trent 168,108 2,617,750 
			 West Midlands South 69,047 1,367,553 
			 West Yorkshire 104,173 2,039,883 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures for 2002–03 are not available.
	2. Figures for 2003–04 are currently being validated.
	3. NHS regions no longer existed from 2001–02. Figures quoted are based on nominal strategic health authority area, even though SHAs did not come into being until the following year.
	4. Total expenditure is taken from audited health authority accounts and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total expenditure by the relevant health authorities, and the commissioner costs of the primary care trusts.
	5. Total NHS expenditure cannot be identified by regional or health authority area because the majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the individual health authority accounts or primary care trust summarisation schedules and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board. The majority of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by health authorities or primary care trusts.
	6. All figures are based on returns submitted by individual NHS organisations. These returns are signed off by the directors of finance of the NHS organisations and audited by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission.
	Sources:
	Audited accounts of the health authorities 1997–98 to1998–99.
	Audited summarisation forms of the health authorities 1999–2000 to 2000–01.
	Audited summarisation schedules of the primary care trusts 2000–01, 2001–02.
	Audited summarisation schedules of the NHS trusts 1997–98 to 2001–02.
	Her Majesty's Treasury gross domestic product deflator.

NHS Finances

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what unplanned financial support is made available to NHS (a) trusts and (b) primary care trusts which are forecasting a year-end deficit.

John Hutton: The Department's policy is that in-year deficits occurring in national health service bodies because of poor financial performance should not receive unplanned financial support, except in exceptional circumstances.
	Exceptionally, the Department has agreed to provide Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust with unplanned financial support of £30 million in the 2004–05 financial year.

NHS Staff (Burnley)

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses on average were employed in (i) 1997 and (ii) the last period for which figures are available in (A) East Lancashire Acute Trust and (B) Burnley General Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The table shows the number of national health service hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS) doctors and nurses within specified organisations employed within Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust in September 1997 and September 2003.
	
		Number—headcount and full-time equivalent (fte)
		
			   Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust(9) East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust(10) 
		
		
			 1997   
			 Doctors   
			 Number 239 n/a 
			 Full-time equivalent 198 n/a 
			
			 Nurses   
			 Number 1,382 n/a 
			 Full-time equivalent 1,158 n/a 
			
			 2003   
			 Doctors   
			 Number n/a 530 
			 Full-time equivalent n/a 491 
			
			 Nurses   
			 Number n/a 2,143 
			 Full-time equivalent n/a 1,835 
		
	
	n/a = not applicable.
	(9) In 2003 Mental Health Services from Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust merged with Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare NHS Trust (mental health services); Blackpool, Wyre and Fyde Community Health NHS Trust (mental health services); Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust (mental health services); Communicare NHS Trust (psychology and drugs services) Guild Community Healthcare NHS Trust; North Sefton and West Lancashire Community NHS Trust; to form Lancashire Care NHS Trust.
	(10) East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was established on 1 April 2003 as a result of the merging of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley and Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Obesity

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have become obese in the Chelmsford primary care trust area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The information requested is not held centrally.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcome has been of negotiations between Multiplex Ltd. and his Department concerning the Paddington Basin Health Campus.

John Hutton: holding answer 14 March 2005
	The Department has not been in negotiations with Multiplex Ltd. in relation to the proposed Paddington Health Campus (PHC) and has no plans to do so.
	Multiplex Ltd. has a shareholding in Paddington Development Corporate Ltd. (PDCL), a privately owned consortium, which among other things, owns land in Paddington. PDCL is currently negotiating with Westminster city council and the Paddington Health Campus team for land required for the proposed PHC. Westminster city council has agreed to broker the land deal.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role he expects that the Paddington Development Corporation will play in the NHS Paddington Basin Health Campus project.

John Hutton: holding answer 14 March 2005
	The Royal Brompton and Harefield and St. Mary's national health service trusts are continuing discussions with Westminster city council with regard to the acquisition of land for Paddington Health Campus (PHC). Paddington Development Corporation Ltd. (PDCL) also own land required by PHC.
	Westminster city council has agreed to negotiate with PDCL with the aim of trying to acquire their land. This will mean that the PHC team will only have to deal with one party for the acquisition of all the land needed.
	It will only be possible to define the PDCL role when, and if, those aforementioned discussions are concluded satisfactorily.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  from whom his Department is purchasing land for the construction of (a) homes for (i) key workers and (ii) relatives of inpatients and (b) hospital facilities at the Paddington Basin Health Campus; and what acreage of land his Department is to acquire in each instance;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the cost to his Department of the acquisition of land at Paddington Basin for housing of (a) key workers and (b) relatives of inpatients at the hospital facilities on the Paddington Basin Health Campus.

John Hutton: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The land needed for the Paddington Health Campus has been identified. Terms for its purchase, including costs and ownership, acceptable to the national health service have not yet been agreed.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the cost to his Department up to 2014 of providing key worker housing for those employed at the Paddington Basin Health Campus.

John Hutton: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The Royal Brompton and Harefield and St. Mary's national health service trusts will require significant accommodation for staff within the locality of the Paddington Health Campus (PHC), which is planned to open in 2013. The trusts propose to locate over 200 units for key workers on the PHC's site and are in discussions with Westminster city council and registered social landlords about the provision of additional accommodation. It is too early in the process for definitive costs to be available.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he will reply to question reference 218474 from the hon. Member for St. Ives;
	(2)  when he will reply to question reference 218756 from the hon. Member for St. Ives;
	(3)  when he will reply to question reference 218757 from the hon. Member for St. Ives;
	(4)  when he will reply to question reference 218753 from the hon. Member for St. Ives;
	(5)  when he will reply to question reference 218327 from the hon. Member for St. Ives;
	(6)  when he will reply to question reference 218457 from the hon. Member for St. Ives.

Melanie Johnson: I replied to the hon. Member on 10 March.

Payment of Bills

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of bills of each NHS acute trust in England were paid within 30 days in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the value was in each case.

John Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	The most recent period for which figures are available is as reported in the individual final accounts of national health service trusts for 2003–04.

Practice Closures

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner practices closed in (a) England and (b) each primary care trust in each year since 1996.

John Hutton: This information is not collected centrally.
	The Government have embarked on one of the most sustained programmes of primary care modernisation in the history of the national health service and that work is ongoing to ensure a primary care infrastructure that is fit for purpose and suitable for the 21st century. Surgery closures are normally due to replacement premises providing higher quality facilities for one or more general practitioner practices, or the modernisation of existing surgeries.
	Between 2000 and 2004, 2,848 GP premises have been replaced or refurbished or are under construction.

Primary Care Trusts (Mergers)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from (a) NHS organisations and (b) other interested bodies on the merits of merging primary care trusts.

John Hutton: The Department is in ongoing discussions with the national health service on primary care trust development and system reform.

Professor Roy Meadow

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what speaking engagements have been undertaken by Professor Roy Meadow to NHS employees since December 2003.

John Hutton: The Department keeps no records of the speaking engagements of doctors or other health professionals or whether these are attended by national health service staff.

Radiographers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implementation by (a) NHS trusts and (b) NHS foundation trusts of the terms and conditions of Agenda for Change with respect to radiographers.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 March 2005
	The implementation of Agenda for Change in individual national health service trusts, including NHS foundation trusts, is a matter for the employer in partnership with staff locally.
	However, we have asked NHS employers to monitor average hourly rates of pay for radiographers and others currently working standard hours of less than 37½ per week and to alert the NHS Staff Council in good time if at any point it appears that, when the hours are finally standardised at 37½ per week, they might fall below pre-Agenda for Change rates.

Radiographers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that all radiographers receive protection of working hours under the Agenda for Change proposals.

John Hutton: Under the Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service, existing radiographers will migrate gradually over a period of seven years to the new standard working hours of 37.5 per week. These protection arrangements will continue to apply where staff move to a post with the same hours under the old pay system during the protection period. Newly appointed or promoted staff should be appointed or promoted on the new terms, except where they are recruited after 1 October 2004 on pre-Agenda for Change terms and conditions pending assimilation of their posts to the new pay system.

Radiographers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts failing to honour the terms and conditions of Agenda for Change with respect to radiographers.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 March 2005
	The Society of Radiographers has written to me on this subject.

Vitamin D

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of eligible mothers and babies obtained free vitamins containing vitamin D on the NHS in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to promote the use of NHS-recommended vitamins containing vitamin D to mothers; and how much the Department spent on such promotion in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Vitamin supplements are available free under the welfare food scheme for pregnant women and children under the age of five in families in receipt of income support, job seekers allowance and child tax credit (below a certain level).
	Government advice on vitamins is set out in booklets "Pregnancy" and "Birth to Five", which are given to all mothers during pregnancy and soon after birth. Information on spending specifically on promotion of national health service-recommended vitamins containing vitamin D in the last 10 years is not available.

Vitamin D

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of mothers bought NHS-recommended vitamins containing vitamin D in the last year for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Gypsy Encampments

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister about illegal Gypsy encampments.

John Prescott: I meet with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister regularly to discuss a range of issues.
	This has included discussions on matters concerning Gypsy encampments.

Small Businesses

Anne Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce rate relief for small businesses.

Nick Raynsford: From 1 April 2005 over 400,000 small businesses will be eligible to receive small business rate relief. This will be a significant benefit to many small businesses for whom business rates can represent a disproportionate burden. Under the new relief scheme, those businesses occupying single main premises with a rateable value below £10,000 are likely to qualify for some reduction in their rates bill, rising to a 50 per cent. rebate for those with rateable values below £5,000. All those small businesses which believe they may qualify should be encouraged to apply for this relief and we have made provision for this by informing all rate payers of the relief in their rates bill.

Social Housing

Clive Soley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on increasing mobility in the social rented sector.

Keith Hill: The Government are committed to increasing the mobility of people in the social rented sector. As part of this commitment let a contract (in February 2004), to develop a service that will bring together, for the first time, social housing and employment opportunities across the UK. This service was unveiled in the Deputy Prime Minister's five-year plan 'Sustainable Communities—Homes for All' and is known as 'moveUK'. We expect the service to commence later this year.

Land

Huw Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the use of article 4 directives with respect to the sub-division and sale of agricultural land and woodland.

Keith Hill: The Government recognise that directions made under article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 could play a greater role in bringing under full planning control much unsightly minor development associated with the sale of subdivided rural land. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects in the next few months to put forward for consultation two amendments to the order. These measures would make it easier for local planning authorities to serve article 4 directions promptly on farm or forest plots where owners cannot readily be traced, and without the need to obtain in advance the approval of the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.

Regeneration

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the role of his Department is in furthering economic regeneration.

Yvette Cooper: In 2005–06 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will spend £3.2 billion on regeneration programmes, including about £1.5 billion directed through the regional development agencies. In addition, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister works with other Departments and stakeholders to further regeneration through its work to deliver PSA 1 (Neighbourhood Renewal), PSA 2 (Regional Economic Performance and PSA 5 (Sustainable Communities).

Regeneration

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what methods he uses to assess the impact of Government policies on regeneration.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister publishes guidance on appraising regeneration projects in "Assessing the Impacts of Spatial Interventions—Regeneration, Renewal and Regional Development—'The 3Rs guidance'". This follows the principles set out in the Treasury Green Book on investment appraisal.

Councillors' Conduct (Highway Regulations)

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the propriety of councillors commenting on proposals for changes in highway regulations in advance of decisions being taken.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has issued no guidance of this kind. Standards of conduct for councillors are contained in the model code of conduct issued in November 2001. The Standards Board for England is currently reviewing this code.

Fire Service

Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average response time of the fire and rescue service to 999 calls was in (a) Hartlepool and (b) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Iain Wright) on 2 March 2005, Official Report, column 1247W.

Housing

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to issue his proposals for a revised measurement of overcrowding.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hopes to take a decision shortly on the timing of consultation on the statutory overcrowding standards.

Housing

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total spending by the Housing Corporation in the London borough of Islington was in each year since 1997–98; and what proportion of this was spent on (a) capital repairs and (b) new build.

Keith Hill: The following table sets out the total expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP) from 1997–98 to 2003–04, where Islington is the sponsoring authority, and the proportion of this that was spent on new build and miscellaneous works.
	
		Approved development programme
		
			   Percentage of total 
			  Total investment (£000) New build Miscellaneous works(11) 
		
		
			 1997–98 9,130 37 1 
			 1998–99 14,318 70 8 
			 1999–2000 5,800 50 12 
			 2000–01 9,815 83 4 
			 2001–02 10,313 63 0 
			 2002–03 24,906 48 1 
			 2003–04 46,716 43 2 
		
	
	(11) Miscellaneous works are mainly items of major repair but also include other works such as adaptations for people with disabilities and insulation/energy conservation works.
	Source:
	Housing Corporation (extract from RCM)

Housing

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total central Government Housing Investment programme allocation to the London borough of Islington was in each year since 1997–98; and what proportion of this was used for (a) capital repairs and (b) new build.

Keith Hill: Details of the housing capital allocations (£ million) made to Islington since 1997–98 are tabled as follows. The Major Repairs Allowance and Arms Length Management Organisation funding are both wholly for use on council housing. The bulk of the housing investment programme funding supports the authority's overall housing capital programme; decisions on what these funds are used for are a matter for the authority. The following table shows the composition of Islington's overall programme.
	
		Allocations
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Housing investment Programme(12) 14.9 18.7 18.0 28.4 12.7 
			 Disabled Facilities 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 
			 Major Repairs Allowance — — — — 25.4 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Housing investment Programme(12) 15.0 13.6 15.8 17.8 
			 Disabled Facilities 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 
			 Major Repairs Allowance 25.0 25.5 24.0 25.0 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation — — 0.9 24.0 
		
	
	(12) Includes Housing Annual Capital Guidelines/Supported Capital Expenditure, Capital Receipts Initiative, private sector renewal grant and Cash Incentive Schemes.
	
		Capital spend
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Council Housing 27.9 37.3 30.9 34.6 37.8 
			 Private Sector Housing 0.8 0.9 1.5 1.4 2.0 
			 Other(13) 0.3 0.2 1.2 7.3 3.7 
			 Total 29.0 38.3 33.6 43.2 43.5 
		
	
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Council Housing 44.9 62.7 55.8 83.7 
			 Private Sector Housing 2.5 1.8 2.7 2.7 
			 Other(13) 1.1 1.5 0.3 1.0 
			 Total 48.5 66.0 58.7 87.4 
		
	
	(13) Mainly funding for provision of affordable housing through housing associations.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what expenditure has been allocated to Implementing Electronic Government capital grants to local authorities in each year since their inception; and what the estimated allocation is for 2005–06.

Nick Raynsford: Local authorities in England were allocated £200,000 each in capital grant for Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) in 2002–03, an additional £200,000 each in 2003–04 and £350,000 each in 2004–05. The allocation for every local authority in 2005–06 is £150,000. The grant is intended to support the proposals set out in receiving authorities IEG statements and is only payable to authorities that have submitted a satisfactory IEG statement.

Parliamentary Questions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the projects being undertaken by his Department in respect of which information cannot be given in answer to parliamentary questions as a result of commercial confidentiality.

Yvette Cooper: A decision not to release information relating to any project as a result of commercial confidentiality is considered on the basis of the specific request made in each parliamentary question.
	An assessment of commercial confidentiality may apply to a specific element within a project as well as to an entire project. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

Planning (Country Houses)

Alan Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether it is his intention in Planning Policy Statement 7 not to preclude approval of applications to build new country houses in any particular architectural style or idiom but to encourage all styles and types provided that the proposals in question are of high quality in terms of design, construction and sustainability; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Planning Policy Statement 7 (PPS7) "Sustainable Development in Rural Areas", says (paragraph 10) that isolated new houses in the countryside will require special justification for planning permission to be granted. It goes on to say (paragraph 11) that:
	"Very occasionally the exceptional quality and innovative nature of the design of a proposed, isolated new house may provide this special justification for granting planning permission. Such a design should be truly outstanding and ground-breaking, for example, in its use of materials, methods of construction or its contribution to protecting and enhancing the environment, so helping to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas. The value of such a building will be found in its reflection of the highest standards in contemporary architecture, the significant enhancement of its immediate setting and its sensitivity to the defining characteristics of the local area."
	The Government's intention is not to discourage particular styles and/or types of contemporary architecture which also meet the wider objectives of policy set out in PPS7. The fact that a particular design reflects the evolution of architecture from its historical roots is not of itself a reason to reject a proposal for an isolated new house in the countryside. Indeed, as Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS1) "Delivering Sustainable Development" makes clear (paragraph 38), Government policy is that local planning authorities (when deciding planning applications) should not attempt to impose architectural styles or particular tastes, or stifle innovation.

Postal Voting

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people had applied to vote by post (a) in June 2001, (b) in December 2004 and (c) on the latest date for which information is available, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Electoral Commission's report on the 2001 general election shows 1,738,055 issued for that election.

Southend

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Minister for Local and Regional Government has to visit Southend on official business.

Nick Raynsford: The Minister of State for Local and Regional Government currently has no plans to visit Southend on official business.

CABINET OFFICE

Sikh Employees

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the Office's policy is on the wearing of the Kirpan by Sikh employees.

David Miliband: Cabinet Office policy is that there is no reason that Sikh civil servants or members of the public should not wear the Kirpan in Cabinet Office buildings, except in places where security policy might dictate otherwise and where items such as pen knives or letter openers might be banned. In such cases, the Kirpan would be stored in a secure place at the work location during working hours.
	Cabinet Office does not discriminate unfairly on any grounds, including religion and belief. This commitment is set out clearly in our equal opportunities policy, including in our dignity at work statement. In support of this, the Department provides guidance and advice to staff and managers about the use of prayer rooms and on making and handling requests for time away from the office for religious observance. There is one designated prayer room on the Cabinet Office estate and other rooms can be made available for staff to use on request.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Regional Development Agencies

George Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of regional development agencies.

Jacqui Smith: England's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) will continue to play a lead role in delivering sustainable improvements in the economic performance of all English regions, acting as strategic leaders in their regions to develop a region-specific economic development and regeneration agenda. In line with our current policy, where it is appropriate to do so, we will look to increase the flexibilities and freedoms available to RDAs to enable them to fulfil this role effectively.

Sellafield

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on advice given by Euratom inspectors to BNFL in respect of the weighing of cans of plutonium nitrate at Sellafield.

Mike O'Brien: I am assured that plutonium nitrate is not stored in cans at Sellafield and so the weighing by BNFL of such cans has not been the subject of advice from European Commission safeguards inspectors.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Bottled Water

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2005, Official Report, column 247W, on bottled water, what the names and addresses are of suppliers of bottled water to the Refreshment Department; and what estimate has been made of the number of (a) lorry journeys and (b) lorry miles generated by these companies in order to meet orders placed by the Refreshment Department in each year.

Archy Kirkwood: Bottled water is supplied to the House of Commons by Hildon Ltd. at Broughton, Hampshire. The Refreshment Department keeps no record of the number of lorry journeys or lorry miles generated by Hildon Ltd. in supplying bottled water to the House of Commons, but is aware that the vehicle dispatched will make deliveries to several other customers on the same journey.

Catering Food Waste

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2005, Official Report, columns 247–48W, on catering food waste, if he will estimate the (a) weight and (b) percentage of food purchased which is (i) disposed of by the Refreshment Department in the general refuse and (ii) re-used for human consumption on an average working day.

Archy Kirkwood: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Refreshment Department does not keep any record of the weight of catering food waste.
	(b) In the 11 months to the end of February 2005, the Refreshment Department estimates that approximately 2 per cent. of food purchases by value have been written off as wastage. No records are kept of the amount of left-over food re-used at a later time or date within the catering operations of the Refreshment Department.

Catering Food Waste

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2005, Official Report, columns 247–48W, on catering food waste, what discussions have been held with charitable organisations on the possibility of donating food to such organisations since 1997; and what progress has been made since 25 January in reaching an agreement with such organisations to donate food which otherwise would be disposed of by the Refreshment Department.

Archy Kirkwood: The Refreshment Department last made inquiries about the possibility of donating waste food from the House of Commons catering operations to charitable organisations in April 2002. At that time, only three of 20 charities contacted in central London confirmed that they accepted food donations from catering establishments. None of these three organisations were prepared to accept unpackaged food prepared from fresh ingredients in our own kitchens and the Refreshment Department has minimal levels of wastage of packaged foods. All charities contacted in 2002 concluded that the nature, frequency and unpredictable quantity of food waste from the House of Commons Refreshment Department was unsuitable for their needs, but that they would contact us if their policy changed. No further discussions have been held since then.

Cycling

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many cycle parking places are provided for the use of hon. Members and staff of the House of Commons estate; and what plans there are to increase the number of cycle parking places available.

Archy Kirkwood: There are at present some 100 cycle parking spaces on the parliamentary estate. There are plans to re-organise the parking arrangements in Star Chamber Court which will create some 15 additional cycle parking spaces.

Cycling

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission for what reasons members of the public are prevented from parking their bicycles on the parliamentary estate; and if he will provide secure parking places on the parliamentary estate for such a purpose.

Archy Kirkwood: It is undesirable for visitors to bring bicycles on to the estate for security reasons; there are therefore no plans to provide spaces for the public. Cycle parking is available nearby outside 7 Millbank.

Repairs (Vehicle Emissions)

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will estimate the total financial cost of repairing damage caused to House buildings by emissions from motor vehicles on the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years.

Archy Kirkwood: No such estimate can be made.

Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many hon. Members use (a) rail, (b) bus, (c) bicycle, (d) car, (e) aeroplane and (f) foot as their predominant means of transport to the parliamentary estate.

Archy Kirkwood: The Commission has no responsibility for how hon. Members choose to come to Parliament.

TREASURY

Cancer Deaths

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have died due to cancer in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen Hepburn, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people have died due to cancer in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. (222144)
	The latest year for which data are available is 2003. Figures for Jarrow constituency, which is made up of parts of Gateshead and South Tyneside local authorities, are not available. For this reason, the figures for 1997 to 2003, provided in the attached table, are for Gateshead and South Tyneside, the North East Government Office Region and the United Kingdom.
	
		Deaths from cancer(14) in South Tyneside and Gateshead local authorities, North East Government Office Region(15) and the United Kingdom(16)—1997 to 2003(17)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Gateshead 654 638 630 619 635 624 625 
			 South Tyneside 532 545 528 530 536 508 526 
			 North East 7,816 7,883 7,572 7,486 7,756 7,688 7,618 
			 United Kingdom 154,125 154,729 152,476 151,185 154,731 155,480 154,828 
		
	
	(14) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, from 1997 to 2000, and for deaths in Scotland from 1997 to 1999. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used to define deaths in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland from 2001 to 2003, and in Scotland from 2000 to 2003. The codes used are listed below:
	Cancer (Malignant neoplasms)—ICD-9 140–208; ICD-10 C00-C97.
	(15) Usual residents of these areas.
	(16) UK figures include non-residents.
	(17) The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death means that data for cancer are not completely comparable with data coded using ICD-9. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution. The effect of the change in classification in 2001 on cancer deaths in England and Wales is described in a report published in May 2002.*
	*Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75–83.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the Implementation of the Regulation establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Committee for the implementation of the Regulation establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession (ISPA) met once under the Italian presidency of the EU, on 12 and 13 November 2003. The Committee did not meet under the Irish presidency but met once under the Dutch presidency, on 28 October 2004. The meetings took place in Brussels and were attended by an official from the Department for International Development.
	The ISPA Committee is convened and chaired by the Commission and is constituted for member states to assist the Commission with implementation of Council Regulation No. 1267/1999 of 21 June 1999.
	The ISPA programme consists of support to the environmental and transport infrastructure priorities of the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
	Council Decision 1999/468/EC sets out to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertakes to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The reports are deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the series of Command Papers that sets out the main elements of government business in the EU under the respective presidencies: Cm6174, laid in April 2004 and Cm6310, laid in September 2004 refer.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what traffic light status was awarded to the identity cards scheme by the Office of Government Commerce at the Gateway Review 1 stage.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 25 February 2005
	The ID Cards programme has not yet undergone a Gate 1 Review. It has, however, undergone two OGC Gate 0 Reviews, in June 2003 and January 2004 respectively. The traffic light status awarded by these reviews is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as disclosure would be likely to prejudice both the ability of OGC to examine the effectiveness, efficiency and economy with which other Government Departments exercise their functions and also the formulation and development of Government policy. I believe the public interest in disclosure of such information is outweighed by the public interest in non-disclosure.

Job Creation

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new jobs have been created in (a) Aberdeenshire Unitary Authority Area, (b) Gordon constituency and (c) Banff and Buchan constituency in each year since 1999.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Alex Salmond, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about jobs created in Aberdeenshire Unitary Authority, and Banff and Buchan and Gordon Parliamentary Constituencies. (222061)
	While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year to year.
	The attached table shows the information requested, relating to jobs in these areas, from 1999 to 2003 for Aberdeenshire, and from 1999 to 2002 for Parliamentary Constituencies. These are the latest period for which information is available.
	
		Number of employee jobs(18)(5507550019) and change in employee jobs in Aberdeenshire Unitary Authority, Banff and Buchan, and Gordon parliamentary constituency—1999 to 2003 -- Thousand
		
			  Aberdeenshire Year on year change Banff and Buchan(20) Year on year change Gordon(20) Year on year change 
		
		
			 1999 71 — 26 — 24 — 
			 2000 77 6 30 4 25 2 
			 2001 79 2 29 -1 25 0 
			 2002 75 -4 26 -3 25 -1 
			 2003 79 4 — — — — 
		
	
	(18) Excludes self-employed jobs.
	(19) These figures are aggregates from which agriculture class 0100 (1992 SIC) have been excluded.
	(20) 2003 Annual Business Inquiry estimates are currently not available by parliamentary constituency.
	Note:
	Each table entry is independently rounded to the nearest thousand.
	Source:
	Annual Business Inquiry, 1999–2003

MRSA Deaths

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths from MRSA there have been in (a) Lancashire, (b) the Ribble Valley and (c) each hospital in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Nigel Evans, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths from MRSA there have been in (a) Lancashire, (b) Ribble Valley and (c) each hospital in Lancashire in each of the past five years. (221988)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. Numbers of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor are given in the table below.
	The information on deaths in each hospital could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		Number of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor,(21) Lancashire and Ribble Valley(22), 1999–2003(23)
		
			  Lancashire Ribble Valley 
		
		
			 1999 (24)— (24)— 
			 2000 12 (24)— 
			 2001 7 (24)— 
			 2002 10 (24)— 
			 2003 16 (24)— 
		
	
	(21) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993–2002. "Health Statistics Quarterly" 21, 15–22.
	(22) Deaths to residents of these areas.
	(23) Figures are for deaths occurring in the years 1999 to 2003.
	(24) Fewer than 5 deaths.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

National Debt

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the national debt per head of population was in real terms in (a) 1996 and (b) 2004.

Stephen Timms: Figures for public sector net debt at current prices are available on the Office for National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/tsdtables1.asp?vlnk=fsf. Table 1.1A: Public Sector Finances (series RUTN) shows figures for public sector net debt in £ billion.
	Figures for mid-year population estimates are also available on the Office for National Statistics website. Mid-1996 population estimates for the UK are available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D8601.xls. The latest available population estimates for the UK are mid-2003, which are available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=12899.
	GDP deflators, to convert nominal values into real terms, are available on the Treasury website at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/3DA/86/GDPdeflator 23122004.xls

Perinatal/Infant Mortality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) perinatal and (b) infant mortality rates were in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) perinatal and (b) infant mortality rates were in each of the last ten years. (222060)
	The most recent year for which infant mortality data are available is 2003. Data for 2003 are provisional. The information is shown in the table below.
	
		Numbers and rates for (a) perinatal and (b) infant mortality in England and Wales for the years 1994 to 2003
		
			  (a) Perinatal mortality (b) Infant mortality 
			  Number Rate Number Rate 
		
		
			 1994 5,958 9.0 4,120 6.2 
			 1995 5,701 8.8 3,982 6.1 
			 1996 5,605 8.6 3,959 6.1 
			 1997 5,380 8.4 3,799 5.9 
			 1998 5,261 8.3 3,625 5.7 
			 1999 5,138 8.3 3,621 5.8 
			 2000 4,956 8.2 3,377 5.6 
			 2001 4,757 8.0 3,240 5.4 
			 2002 4,992 8.4 3,127 5.2 
			 2003(25) 5,334 8.5 3,306 5.3 
		
	
	(25) Data for 2003 are provisional.
	Note:
	Final figures for 2003 will be published in DH3, no. 36 on 31 March 2005.
	Source:
	1994–2002: Series DH3 'Mortality statistics: Childhood, infant and perinatal' no. 35, table 12003.

Redundancy Payments

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to raise the threshold at which tax is paid on redundancy payments.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep the £30,000 tax exemption for redundancy payments under review along with all other aspects of the tax system.

Women with Disabilities

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women with disabilities were in employment in the UK on the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Keith Vaz, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about women with disabilities in employment in the UK. (221604)
	It is estimated that, for the three-month period ending in November 2004, there were 1,625,000 women with disabilities in employment in the United Kingdom.
	The definition of 'disabled' includes those who have a current disability covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, or a work-limiting disability, or both.
	This estimate from the Labour Force Survey is, as with any statistical sample survey, subject to sampling variability.

Youth Unemployment

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of youth unemployment in Tamworth was in 2004.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Brian Jenkins, dated 16 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about youth unemployment in Tamworth. (221930)
	It is estimated that, for the twelve-month period ending in February 2004, the latest period for which information is available, there were 2,000 unemployed people aged 16–24 resident in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency. This estimate from the Labour Force Survey is, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	The Office for National Statistics also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for local areas. In the year 2004, there were, on average, 290 young people aged 18 to 24 years claiming Jobseeker's Allowance who were resident in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Vale of York, of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1346W, on Child Support Agency, what the (a) median and (b) mean time taken to process a case of (i) maintenance calculation and (ii) first payment was in the last period for which figures are available; and what proportion of new cases over (A) six months and (B) a year old have (1) yet to receive a maintenance calculation and (2) made a first payment.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 16 March 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer to the honourable Member for Vale of York of 7th February Official Report column 1346W on Child Support Agency what the (a) median and (b) mean time taken to process a case of (i) maintenance calculation and (ii) first payment was in the last period for which figures are available; and what proportion of new cases over (A) six months and (B) a year old have (1) yet to receive a maintenance calculation and (2) made a first payment.
	The information you seek is not currently available with any level of accuracy. The Agency is currently progressively improving its management information systems. This will lead to a position, during the early summer, where it will be possible to extract this information from our systems. I have therefore noted your request and will provide the information to you when it is available.

Child Support Agency

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the Child Support Agency to impose a penalty on absent parents who fail to disclose their income and employee details.

Chris Pond: A non-resident parent is required to provide the Child Support Agency with a range of information including their income and employment details in order for a maintenance calculation to be made.
	Since January 2001 it has been a criminal offence if a person fails to provide information to the Child Support Agency when required to do so, or knowingly provides false information. This offence carries a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction by a court.
	We have no plans to introduce further penalties in such circumstances.

Child Support Agency

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give the Child Support Agency (CSA) powers to make it mandatory for absent parents to instruct the CSA of their new employee details when they change employment.

Chris Pond: We have no plans to make it mandatory for non resident parents to notify the Child Support Agency when they change their employment.

Employment Rates

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the earliest date is by which the Government expect to have achieved an employment rate equivalent to 80 per cent. of the working age population in work.

Jane Kennedy: An employment rate equivalent to 80 per cent. of the working age population in work is a long-term aspiration.
	This long-term aspiration is very challenging. It will require continued macroeconomic stability and further radical welfare reform to build on the success of achieving the highest employment rate of all the G8 major industrialised countries and one of the highest employment rates in our history.
	Our five-year strategy, 'Opportunity and Security throughout life' outlines how we aim to meet this challenge. With unemployment at low levels helping inactive people into work is crucial to achieving our aspiration. We must:
	support children and families—including helping lone parents into work by making work possible and making work pay
	help people on incapacity benefits to get the support they need to fulfil their ambitions to return to work
	break down the barriers that prevent disabled people meeting their desire to move back into work.
	It will take time to achieve this. Key elements to the strategy will be the reform of incapacity benefit and the equalisation of state pension age from 2010. The principle behind the strategy is to help people to move back into work while still delivering financial security for those who need it.

Pension Service (Cold Calling)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on cold-calling by Pension Service staff of pensioners; how many such calls the Pension Service has made in each of the last 24 months, broken down by region; whether the calls are made by Pension Service employees; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the script used by callers.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not "cold call" pensioners. Telephone calls are in certain circumstances made to pensioners who may be eligible for pension credit to ask if they wish to apply. In all such cases the recipient would already have received at least one letter about pension credit, including one informing them that such a call might be made. The Department has also sent letters to customers to inform them of the change to Direct Payment, a safer and more secure method of paying benefits and pensions. These letters advise customers that we will try to call them if we do not hear from them.

Pensioners

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly income of single (a) female and (b) male pensioners was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the table.
	
		The average incomes of single female and single male pensioners in 2002–03 -- £ per week(26)
		
			  Single female pensioners Single male pensioners 
		
		
			 Gross income 197 221 
			 Net income BHC 172 190 
			 Net income AHC 147 165 
		
	
	(26) 2002–03 prices.
	Notes:
	1. Incomes are presented as pounds per week. Figures for incomes are given in 2002–03 prices and rounded to the nearest pound.
	2. BHC stands for "before housing costs" and AHC for "after housing costs".
	3. Gross income is income from all sources received by the pensioner including income from social security benefits (including housing benefit), earnings from employment or self-employment, any private pension income, and tax credits. Net income before housing costs deducts direct taxes including council tax, net income after housing costs also deducts housing costs which include rent, water rates and mortgage payments.
	Source:
	The Pensioners' Incomes Series 2002–03 (which is based on data from the Family Resources Survey).

Pensioners

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in (a) Plymouth, Sutton, (b) Plymouth, Devonport and (c) South West Devon received pension credit in the latest month for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on numbers of households and individuals in receipt of pension credit in each constituency at 31 December 2004 is contained in the most recent quarterly pension credit progress report, which was published on 3 February. A copy of the report is in the Library.

Pensions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department keeps a record of the number of lost application forms for pension credit.

Chris Pond: The Department does not keep a central record of the number of lost application forms. However, between April 2004 and February 2005 the pension credit application line was contacted in 714 cases by customers who had not received their forms. Appropriate action is taken as soon as possible when the application line is informed that a customer has not received his or her form.

Statistics

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the publication dates of statistics to be released by his Department and its agencies during the next year.

Chris Pond: The majority of the Department's statistics are released quarterly on the internet and summarised in the DWP Statistical Summary. They are scheduled to be issued on the following dates in the coming year:
	16 March 2005
	15 June 2005
	21 September 2005
	21 December 2005
	The Department's statisticians have recently completed a consultation about improvements to the data sources and coverage of benefit statistics. The outcome of the consultation has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at http//www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/stats_consultation/DWP_Response_to_External_ Consultation.pdf. Further details, including the effect on the publication schedule, will be released in the summer.
	Publication dates for other DWP statistics prepared by members of the Government Statistical Services are currently scheduled as follows:
	
		
			 Publication Period covered Release date 
		
		
			 Fraud and Error in Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension Credit (detailed report) April 2003 to March 2004 24 March 2005 
			 Neighbourhood Statistics August 2004 March 2005 
			 Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04 30 March 2005 
			 Pensioners' Incomes 1994–95 to 2003–04 6 April 2005 
			 Family Resources Survey 2003–04 6 April 2005 
			 Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit (detailed report) April 2002 to March 2004 26 May 2005 
			 Tax/Benefit Model April 2005 June 2005 
			 National Insurance Contributions and Qualifying Years 1978–79 to 2002–03 June 2005 
			 Fraud and Error in Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension Credit (headline report) October 2003 to September 2004 July 2005 
			 Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit (headline report) April 2002 to September 2004 21 July 2005 
			 Local Area Labour Force Survey March 2004 to February 2005 August 2005 
			 Low Income Dynamics 1991–2003 August 2005 (provisional) 
			 National Insurance Number allocations to overseas Nationals entering the UK (previously Migrant Workers Statistics) 2003–04 September 2005 (provisional) 
			 Work and Pensions Statistics 2005 October 2005 
			 Fraud and Error in Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension Credit (headline report) April 2004 to March 2005 November 2005 
			 Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit (headline report) April 2002 to March 2005 November 2005 
			 Second Tier Pension Provision 2003–04 December 2005 (provisional) 
			 Take-up of Income-related Benefits 2003–04 December 2005 (provisional) 
			 Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2004–05 March 2006

Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Tamworth have received (a) full and (b) partial grants from the Access to Work programme in each year since its introduction.

Maria Eagle: Access to Work grants are not broken down into full or partial grants. The Access to Work programme assesses the needs of individuals and, within Access to Work guidelines, offers a grant required by the applicant to help them overcome the particular barriers they face in their workplace.
	Information is not available broken down by constituency. The available information for the West Midlands Jobcentre Plus region is in the table.
	
		Access to Work programme—new beneficiaries West Midlands Jobcentre Plus Region
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 April 1999 to March 2000 960 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 1,590 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 1,540 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 1,310 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 1,270 
			 Total 6,670 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. New beneficiary figures relate to people receiving Access to Work assistance for the first time.
	2. Information is not available broken down by region before 1999.
	3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	DWP Disability and Rehabilitation Division

Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were in receipt of winter fuel payments in Tamworth in 2004–05.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on the number of pensioners in Tamworth who received a winter fuel payment in winter 2003–04 is in the Library. Information on winter 2004–05 is not yet available but we expect the number to be similar.

PRIME MINISTER

Engagements

Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to visit Colchester on official business before 5 May.

Tony Blair: I have no current plans to do so.

Entertainment

Norman Lamb: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list guests entertained at public expense at (a) Chequers and (b) 10 Downing street in the period from 1 January to 25 February.

Tony Blair: The list of guests entertained at Chequers is currently being considered as part of a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	It is a matter of public record that both my officials and I entertain guests at 10 Downing street. A list of guests is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his Answers of 9 March to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, Official Report, column 514, and to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd), Official Report, column 516, what account he took, in his presentation to the Cabinet of the reasons for going to war with Iraq, of the requirements under the Ministerial Code when a summary of advice is given to Cabinet.

Simon Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister whether he intends to make available to a succeeding administration the complete text of the advice of the Attorney-General reported orally to the Cabinet on 17 March 2003 under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Members to the letter from the Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith) to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Black Male Pupils

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Government plan to teach black male pupils in separate classes in an effort to improve their GCSE results.

Derek Twigg: Segregating pupils solely on the grounds of ethnicity is contrary to the Department's approach to inclusion and we have no plans to promote the segregation and teaching of black male pupils in separate classes.
	The strategies we have put in place to tackle underachievement by minority ethnic pupils, including targeted work to support black pupils, are delivering year-on-year improvements in GCSE results for all ethnic groups. Black Caribbean boys' achievement has risen this year by almost twice the national average and black African boys' has risen even faster. These improvements are important; however, we are not complacent and recognise that there remains a great deal more to do.

Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policies her Department has in place for supporting employees with cancer.

Derek Twigg: My Department takes the health and welfare of all its employees very seriously. Managers are responsible for day to day sickness absence management and work closely with personnel staff on individual cases to identify how best to offer help and support including keeping in touch arrangements for those on long-term sickness absence.
	For employees with cancer, a range of support is available including: changed working patterns; approved discretionary special leave or paid time off for treatment; and, if appropriate, we will support applications for medical retirement.
	In addition, we encourage the use of Department's Employee Assistance Programme for counselling and information. Staff and their managers can use of departmental occupational health advisers to provide advice on all areas where health may affect attendance and performance. Staff can also have membership of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, one of the largest benevolent funds in the UK, who can provide help and assistance, including financial assistance and putting cancer sufferers in touch with specialist agencies.

Care Proceedings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many care proceedings have been terminated after court proceedings have been initiated with the child in question remaining with the birth parent in each of the last 10 years.

Margaret Hodge: It is not possible to say in how many care proceedings the child in question remained with their birth parents, as information about the parties involved is not collected centrally. The following table shows the number of care proceedings which have been disposed of without a care order being made over the last 10 years:
	
		
			  Applications withdrawn Orders refused Orders of no order 
		
		
			 2003 433 26 257 
			 2002 304 27 185 
			 2001 355 15 164 
			 2000 459 26 177 
			 1999 288 28 95 
			 1998 547 43 121 
			 1997 514 38 128 
			 1996 525 41 124 
			 1995 641 40 108 
			 1994 562 80 162 
		
	
	Source:
	Judicial Statistics (Table 5.2)

Child Care Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the statistics relating to (a) child care and (b) looked after children and children in care, which, since 1997 (i) are no longer collected by her Department and (ii) have had the way in which the figures are compiled changed.

Margaret Hodge: My Department's Children's Day Care Facilities Survey collected data on numbers of child care providers and places classified according to type of provider: day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, childminders, out of school clubs, and holiday schemes, for each local authority, from local authority Social Service Departments on an annual basis until March 2001, when the survey was discontinued.
	With the introduction of the National Day Care Standards and the transfer of responsibilities for registration and inspection of child care providers from Local Authority Social Service Departments to Ofsted in September 2001, data on child care providers and numbers of places were collected as part of the process of registration and inspection and child care providers and places were classified according to type of day care provided: full day care, sessional day care, childminder, out of school day care, and crèche day care.
	My Department published figures on numbers of child care providers and places on an annual basis until March 2001 and Ofsted has published figures on numbers of child care providers and places on a quarterly basis since March 2003. There are no figures for March 2002. The two sets of figures are not entirely comparable because one set derives from local authority data classified according to type of provider and the other from provider data classified according to type of child care provided.
	The following table summarises the changes made to the children looked after returns since 1997.
	
		
			 Year ending 31 March:  Change  Description 
		
		
			 1997 Children's homes statistical publication changed from annual to triennial publication Children's homes publication contains details on numbers of children's homes 
			 1998 CLA100 return introduced To collect aggregate figures for children looked after by local authority. Introduced following a review in 1997 of the statistics on personal social services collected by DH to enable a fast turnaround of data providing more up-to-date summary figures than is possible from the detailed SSDA903 return. 
			 1998 SSDA903 return moves from covering all children looked after to a one-third sample survey To reduce the burden on local authorities following introduction of the CLA100 return. (The SSDA903 return is a child level return collecting detailed information on episodes of care). Aggregate figures were produced using the CLA100 totals (at 31 March, starters and ceased). 
			 2000 Last year of Children's Homes publications Responsibility for children's homes passed to CSCI 
			 2001 'Number of children starting to be looked after in year' discontinued from the CLA100 return To calculate an aggregate number of starters in the year the 31 March total was used in combination with the SSDA903 return. 'Number of children who ceased to be looked after in the year' was discontinued in the year ending 31 March 2002. It was decided to also use the 31 March total in combination with the SSDA903 return to calculate the aggregate number of ceased. 
			 2001 SSDA903 codes revised(27). Ethnic origin and 'Children in Need' code collected for the first time. 'Reason for being looked after' code discontinued. Most of the 'reason episode ceased' codes(28) were discontinued. Most of the pre-2001 codes can be mapped uniquely to the 2001 codes. However, at a detailed level some codes can not be uniquely matched. 'Children in Need' code replaced the 'Reason for being looked after' code. 
			 2001 CLA100 return codes revised To match SSDA903 codes 
			 2004 SSDA903 return moves to a census Move to web-based data collection facilitates move to census. 
			 2004 CLA100 discontinued The result of the SSDA903 return move to census. 
		
	
	(27) In the year ending 2001 the codes used on the SSDA903 form, which had previously been numerical, were changed to alphanumeric pairs, in each case a letter followed by a number (except 'reason for new episode' which is a field of one digit in length. Further details on the changes can be found in a document titled 'Information only—new SSDA9Q3 codes introduced on 1 April 2000' which can be downloaded from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/datastats1/guidelines/children/returns.shtml
	(28) Discontinued 'reason episode ceased' codes were emigration and reaching the maximum age appropriate to the legal status and placement. The detailed codes indicating that the child continued to be looked after following a placement or legal status change (or both) were summarised into one category, 'episode ceased and new episode begins on the same day, for any reason'.

Children Act Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of the cost of (a) establishing and (b) maintaining the databases of children established by the Children Act 2004.

Margaret Hodge: The detailed costings for a national system of databases or Indexes' are not yet available. We know that the 15 authorities involved in our 10 Trailblazers have been able to make good progress towards introducing both indexes and the vital training and culture change required, within overall budgets of around £1 million per Trailblazer. We will take decisions on the funding of a national infrastructure in the light of further work on the technical feasibility and an analysis of costs and benefits. We will not move to this phase until we are clear that the processes and systems are deliverable, and that we have secured sufficient funding.

Children Act Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the role of the new Children's Commissioner for England will be in (a) setting up and (b) monitoring the children's databases established by the Children Act 2004.

Margaret Hodge: The Children's Commissioner will be able to apply his general powers in relation to the databases or indexes to be established under the Children Act, as for other policy initiatives.

Children Act Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what data she intends to include on the databases of children established by the Children's Act 2004.

Margaret Hodge: The databases or 'indexes' would contain the following information:
	basic details to identify a child and whether they are receiving universal services. These are name, address, date of birth, gender, a unique identifying number, name and contact details of a person with parental responsibility or care of the child, name and contact details for school or other educational setting, and names and contact details of GP practice;
	name and contact details for other practitioners involved with a child, so professionals can see who to contact if they wish to discuss a child's additional needs; and
	an indicator of whether a practitioner has a cause for concern about a child, so professionals can see who to contact as a matter of priority to discuss a child's additional needs.
	The indexes will not hold any case information.

Children Act Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many responses she has received to her consultation on the databases provision of the Children's Act 2004; and if she will publish them.

Margaret Hodge: We received 317 responses. We are now considering these and will publish a summary of the responses and the Government's decisions on the way forward. We will include in the summary a list of respondents, and will make available copies of individual responses, where the respondent has given permission for this to be done, on request.

Children in Care

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many looked-after children committed suicide while in care in each year since 1997; what estimate she has made of the number of previously looked-after children who committed suicide after leaving care in each year; and what estimate she has made of the number of looked-after children who had or developed some form of mental illness while in care in each year.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 10 March 2005
	Data on children looked after is collected from the SSDA903 return, a statistical return completed by all local authorities with social services responsibilities in England. This return collects information relating to the care a looked after child receives and gives information on children who have died while in care but does not collect data on suicides or the number of looked after children who developed some form of mental illness while in care.
	However, information on the cause of deaths of looked after children has been obtained for the first time in 2004 by matching child records from the SSDA903 episode data for 2002–03 and 2003–04 to death registration records held by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to obtain cause of death. This work is still in progress. The outcome will be published in the Statistical Volume "Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2004", scheduled to be published on 31 March 2005.

Education Funding (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been made available for computers for schools in Tamworth since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold information on funding for ICT in schools at constituency level. However, Tamworth is in Staffordshire LEA and allocations for this authority since 1998 are detailed in "Funding for ICT in Schools in England" which is available in the House Library.

Education Funding (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Tamworth have broadband internet access.

Derek Twigg: My Department does not hold data on broadband connections at constituency level. As at December 2004, 60 per cent. of schools in Staffordshire LEA had a broadband connection. This includes 99 per cent. of secondary schools and 54 per cent. of primary schools.
	The national broadband connectivity rate, as at end December 2004, is 72 per cent., including 99 per cent. of secondary schools and 69 per cent. of primary schools.

Educational Psychologists

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many educational psychologists qualified in each of the last 10 years.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not held centrally. The Higher Education Statistics Agency produce annual summaries of newly qualified graduates by subject, but educational psychologists are not separately identified.

Inclusive Education Strategy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets were set as part of the Government's strategy to make the education system more inclusive; and whether those targets have been achieved.

Derek Twigg: All our national targets including the post-16 and higher education targets are inclusive because they will enable more young people to succeed. The Department's school level floor targets are particularly important in promoting inclusion because they define an ambitious minimum standard of performance for every school.
	The Department publishes progress against all its outstanding PSA targets in its Annual Departmental Report and Autumn Performance Report. Progress was reported most recently in the 2004 autumn report, published last November, together with commentary where appropriate.
	A copy of the Department's 2004 Autumn Performance Report has been placed in the Library.

Out-of-school Clubs (York)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many out-of-school clubs there are in York; and how many there were in 1997.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not available. Along with all local authorities, the City of York receives funding from my Department to provide study support (out of school hours learning) activities as part of the School Development Grant. The majority of this funding is devolved directly to schools. Individual schools and local authorities have the freedom to decide which activities best meet local needs. Study support can range from breakfast, homework and study clubs to special-interest activities including sport, the creative arts, and ICT. Activities can take place before or after school, during the school holidays and at weekends. In addition, the Department will be awarding the City of York £442,575 in 2005–06 to develop their extended schools services, including study support provision.

Parliamentary Questions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the projects being undertaken by her Department in respect of which information cannot be given in answer to parliamentary questions as a result of commercial confidentiality.

Derek Twigg: A decision not to release information relating to any project as a result of commercial confidentiality is made on the basis of the specific request made in each parliamentary question.
	An assessment of commercial confidentiality may apply to specific element within a project as well as to an entire project. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

Post-16 Education (Leicester)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils continued in post-16 education in Leicester in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 14 March 2005
	Participation estimates as at end 2001 (2001/02 academic year) for 16-year-olds in Leicester LEA in full-time education, and in education and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded work based learning (WBL), are 68 and 79 per cent., respectively.
	The information is taken from the Department's Statistical Bulletin entitled, 'Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 Year Olds in Each Local Area in England, End 2001'. A consistent historical time series is currently unavailable due to issues with post-census local population estimates for individual ages for earlier years. Local participation estimates for end 2002 and end 2003 (provisional) are due to be published on 31 March 2005 alongside a consistent historic participation time series.

Special Educational Needs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils with special needs receive two hours of high-quality physical education and school sport each week.

Margaret Hodge: The Department does not collect national data on this. Unless they have been specifically disapplied from this aspect of the national curriculum, we would expect pupils with special educational needs to receive the same amount of physical education and sport as other pupils.
	In 2003–04 the Department commissioned a survey of schools in relation to the PSA target of two hours of quality physical education or school sport each week (The School Sports Partnership Programme Evaluation 2004/05). Schools with higher proportions of pupils with statements of SEN were found to be more likely to be fulfilling the PSA than those with lower proportions of SEN.

Teachers

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of qualified primary school teachers at present unable to secure a job in teaching in (a) Lancashire, (b) the North West and (c) England.

Stephen Twigg: The Secretary of State has made no such estimate.

Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in England will reach the age of 60 years in each of the next five academic years.

Stephen Twigg: The following table shows the number of teachers aged between 55 and 59 in service in maintained sector schools in March 2003, the latest information available. No estimate of the number of teachers in these age groups who will enter or leave service prior to age 60 has been included.
	
		Number of full and part-time teachers in service in the maintained sector in England by age
		
			 Age Full-time Part-time Total 
		
		
			 55 11,190 2,240 13,430 
			 56 9,020 2,120 11,140 
			 57 5,390 1,390 6,780 
			 58 4,450 1,390 5,840 
			 59 3,200 1,150 4,350 
			 Total 33,240 8,300 41,540 
		
	
	Source:
	Database of Teacher Records
	It is estimated that between 10 and 20 per cent. of part-time teachers may not be included in the data.

Universities (Funding)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what ways public funds contribute to the funding of universities; and what the total contribution was in 2004.

Kim Howells: Some 60 per cent. of the total funding universities receive comes from public sources. In 2002/03, the latest year for which data are available, public funding was £7.6 billion, out of a total £12.7 billion.
	For 2004–05, the Department's planned funding for the Higher Education Funding Council for England is £6.9 billion. Higher education institutions will also receive public funding from other Government Departments, and the Research Councils, with further income from private sources such as charities, overseas students' fees, other research bodies, and student residences.
	Public funding is used by the universities for teaching; research; salaries and other staff related costs; for maintaining and updating their buildings, facilities, and equipment; for making links with local schools in order to actively encourage widening participation; and to develop closer links with local businesses; and for other activities which relate to higher education.

Victims of Abuse

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what her policy is regarding compensation for victims of abuse in residential schools and homes in the Irish Republic who are now British citizens;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on how the operation of the Irish Residential Institutions Redress Board will apply to British citizens.

Margaret Hodge: UK citizens who suffered abuse in residential institutions and childrens homes in the Irish Republic and satisfy the criteria set out in the Irish legislation can claim compensation from the Residential Institutions Redress Board in the Republic in the same way as Irish citizens.

HOME DEPARTMENT

2006 World Cup

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of ticketing arrangements for UK football fans to attend the 2006 World Cup; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has received from (a) the German Football Association, (b) the Football Association, (c) the European Commission and (d) FIFA on the ticketing arrangements for UK football fans for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 March 2005
	The Home Office is co-ordinating extensive UK preparations for the 2006 World Cup and is working closely with other Government Departments, police, football authorities and supporter groups. There is very close liaison with the German authorities. All aspects of the preparations, including the potential impact of the ticketing arrangements, are subject to detailed consideration.

Animal Experimentation

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of the regulated procedures conducted in Scotland in 2003 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were performed in (a) public health laboratories, (b) universities and medical schools, (c) national health service hospitals, (d) Government Departments, (e) other public bodies, (f) non-profit making organisations and (g) commercial organisations;
	(2)  what proportion of the regulated procedures conducted in Scotland in 2003 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were carried out for (a) toxicological purposes and (b) non-toxicological purposes;
	(3)  how many of the regulated procedures conducted in Scotland in 2003 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 involved (a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) rabbits, (d) horses and other equids, (e) New World primates and (f) Old World primates; and how many involved (i) genetically modified animals and (ii) animals with a harmful genetic defect;
	(4)  what proportion of the project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 that were in force in Scotland at the end of 2003 were in (a) mild, (b) moderate, (c) substantial and (d) unclassified severity bandings.

Caroline Flint: The latest statistical information of this kind is in the publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2003 (Command 6291, available in the House Library). Separate figures are produced for Northern Ireland.
	However as the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is administered by the Home Office for England, Wales and Scotland, the comprehensive data produced in Command 6291 relate to Great Britain as a whole, and are not broken down into the constituent geographical areas. The provision of information just relating to Scotland has therefore required a special exercise.
	The figures are our best estimate and may be subject to a margin of error because our systems are not normally set up to provide a breakdown on the lines asked for.
	In 2003, the percentage of scientific procedures using animals in Scotland, broken down by various types of establishment, are given in the table.
	
		
			 Type of establishment Percentage 
		
		
			 Public health laboratories 0.0 
			 Universities and medical schools 37.0 
			 NHS hospitals 0.0 
			 Government Departments 1.5 
			 Other public bodies 37.1 
			 Non-profit making organisations 0.0 
			 Commercial concerns 24.4 
		
	
	In 2003 the procedures carried out in Scotland for toxicological purposes amounted to 16 per cent., and for non-toxicological purposes 84 per cent.
	In 2003, the numbers of procedures carried out in Scotland on certain species, or animals with a certain genetic status are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Species of animal, or genetic status Number 
		
		
			 Cat 38 
			 Dog 1,269 
			 Rabbit 6,973 
			 Horses and other equids 2,821 
			 New world primate 282 
			 Old world primate 879 
			   
			 Animals with harmful genetic defect 125,527 
			 Genetically modified animals 14,901 
		
	
	In 2003, the numbers of project licences in force in Scotland at the end of the year, in each severity band, were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Mild 158 
			 Moderate 239 
			 Substantial 9 
			 Unclassified 15

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in Greater London in each year since 1 April 1999, broken down by borough.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the tables.
	
		Number of ASBOs, as reported to the Home Office by all courts within Greater London, where restrictions are imposed within local authority areas, by period, up to 30 September 2004
		
			  Total ASBOs Period Period Period 
			  1 April 1999 to  30 September 2004 1 April 1999 to  31 May 2000 1 June 2000 to  31 December 2000 1 January 2001 to  31 December 
			 Area Total issued Total refused Total issued Total refused Total issued Total refused Total issued Total refused 
		
		
			 Greater London 364 9 9 0 19 2 13 3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Barnet 10 — n/a n/a — — 2 — 
			 Bexley 16 — n/a n/a 2 — — — 
			 Brent 10 1 n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Bromley 7 — n/a n/a 1 — — — 
			 Camden 65 — n/a n/a 5 — 1 — 
			 City of London 4 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Croydon 14 — n/a n/a 1 — — — 
			 Ealing 12 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Enfield 4 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Greenwich 11 — n/a n/a — — 3 — 
			 Hackney 7 — n/a n/a — — 1 — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 8 — n/a n/a — — 2 — 
			 Haringey 9 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Harrow 5 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Havering 5 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Hillingdon 8 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Hounslow 18 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Islington 8 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough 8 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Kingston-on-Thames 5 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Lambeth 14 — n/a n/a 1 — — — 
			 Lewisham 13 — n/a n/a — — 2 — 
			 Merton 10 2 n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Newham 5 2 n/a n/a — 2 2 — 
			 Richmond upon Thames 8 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Southwark 11 3 n/a n/a — — — 3 
			 Sutton 7 — n/a n/a 3 — — — 
			 Tower Hamlets 9 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Waltham Forest 7 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Wandsworth 12 — n/a n/a — — — — 
			 Westminster 24 1 n/a n/a 6 — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Period Period Period 
			  1 January 2002 to  31 December 2002 1 January 2003 to  31 December 2003 1 January 2004 to  30 September 2004 
			 Area Total issued Total refused Total issued Total refused Total issued Total refused 
		
		
			 Greater London 20 2 94 2 209 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham — — — — 1 — 
			 Barnet — — 1 — 7 — 
			 Bexley 6 — 4 — 4 — 
			 Brent — — 7 1 3 — 
			 Bromley — — 5 — 1 — 
			 Camden 10 — 20 — 29 — 
			 City of London — — — — 4 — 
			 Croydon 1 — 6 — 6 — 
			 Ealing — — 1 — 11 — 
			 Enfield — — 1 — 3 — 
			 Greenwich — — 3 — 5 — 
			 Hackney 1 — 1 — 4 — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham — — 2 — 4 — 
			 Haringey — — — — 9 — 
			 Harrow — — — — 5 — 
			 Havering — — 1 — 4 — 
			 Hillingdon — — — — 8 — 
			 Hounslow — — 5 — 13 — 
			 Islington — — 7 — 1 — 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough — — 1 — 7 — 
			 Kingston-on-Thames — — 4 — 1 — 
			 Lambeth — — — — 13 — 
			 Lewisham — — 3 — 8 — 
			 Merton 1 2 2 — 7 — 
			 Newham — — — — 3 — 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — 3 — 5 — 
			 Southwark — — 5 — 6 — 
			 Sutton — — 2 — 2 — 
			 Tower Hamlets 1 — 2 — 6 — 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — 7 — 
			 Wandsworth — — 3 — 9 — 
			 Westminster — — 5 1 13 — 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	Note:
	Between 1 April 1999–31 May 2000 data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area (pfa)

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he gives to police authorities on the type of behaviour which merits the placing of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO); and what steps he takes to ensure consistency across different police authorities in their attitude towards ASBOs.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 7 March 2005
	Section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defines antisocial behaviour in relation to antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) as behaviour that
	"caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household".
	ASBOs were introduced in April 1999. In 2000 the Home Office issued guidance to relevant agencies (including the police) on setting up local ASBO protocols.
	This guidance was superseded by more detailed guidance issued in November 2002 on ASBOs. That guidance offered some advice on the behaviour that might trigger an application for an ASBO. It advised that the most common behaviour tackled by ASBOs is general loutish and unruly conduct such as verbal abuse, harassment, assault, graffiti and excessive noise. The wide range of antisocial behaviour that can be tackled by ASBOs and the ability to tailor the terms of the order to each specific case illustrates their flexibility.
	However, ASBOs are just one tool available to tackle antisocial behaviour. Police, local authorities and other agencies need to assess the antisocial behaviour that is occurring and apply the most relevant tool available to them.

Asylum Seekers

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers in Milton Keynes were supported by Government funding in each of the last 10 years.

Des Browne: The information is not available in the precise format requested. The Home Office took responsibility for the budget for adult and family asylum seekers on 1 April 1999. Information for previous years is therefore not available.
	The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was established on 3 April 2000 and is now responsible for supporting the majority of asylum seekers. Local authorities retain responsibility for supporting some asylum seekers who made their claim for asylum before NASS administered support was effective in their area.
	Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives.
	The following table shows the number of people supported by NASS in Milton Keynes.
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Financial assistance only 165 140 90 
			 Accommodation and financial assistance  or accommodation only — — — 
			 Disbenefited(29) — — * 
			 Total 165 140 95 
		
	
	(29) Disbenefited refers to cases previously supported under mainstream benefits system who have been transferred to support by NASS.
	Notes:
	1. All figures are rounded to the nearest five and * is 1 or 2.
	2. Figures are a snapshot as at the end of each year.
	Information from Milton Keynes council suggests that they have provided support to asylum seekers as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Adults Families 
		
		
			 1999–2000 185 Average of 50 for the year 
			 2000–01 170 Average of 50 for the year 
			 2001–02 80 Average of 35 for the year 
			 2002–03 30 25 at the end of the financial year 
			 2003–04 15 25 at the end of the financial year 
		
	
	Note:
	All figures rounded to the nearest 5
	Children on their own in the country who claim asylum are supported in the same way as any other child in need of care. Information from Milton Keynes council suggests it is supporting the following numbers of children who have made a claim for asylum.
	
		
			 Financial year Number 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0 
			 2000–01(30) * 
			 2001–02(31) 10 
			 2002–03(32) 15 
			 2003–04(33) 25 
		
	
	(30) February 2001.
	(31) February 2002.
	(32) March 2003.
	(33) February 2004.
	Note:
	All figures are rounded to the nearest five and * is 1 or 2.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent (a) officers and (b) civilian personnel were controlled by the central resource of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of each are based at Portishead.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 7 February 2005
	The latest information on police strength was published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 13/04, "Police Service Strength England and Wales, 31 March 2004". A supplementary table giving police officer strength by Basic Command Unit was published online at the same time. This can be found on the website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html.
	On 31 March 2004, the number of full-time equivalent police officers working in Avon and Somerset Central Services was 1,212 and the number of police staff was 1,546. Information on the numbers based at Portishead is not available centrally.

Biometric Data

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 1310W, on Biometric Data, if he will list the identifiers that will be held digitally on the chip in the ePassport.

Des Browne: In compliance with ICAO requirements, the chip will hold a facial image of the passport holder. This facial image will be derived from the applicant's photo submitted at time of application and will be stored in accordance with ICAO and ISO standards.
	Additional information will include that which is currently shown on the personal details page of the passport, namely name, nationality, date of birth, sex, place of birth, date of issue/expiry and passport number.
	The chip will also contain a digital security signature to authenticate the encoded data and that the passport was issued by UK Passport Service.

Civil Servants

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an estimate has been made of the potential efficiency savings of merging the Prison and Probation Services headquarters functions.

Paul Goggins: The new National Offender Management Service headquarters is being redesigned alongside the Prison Service and Probation Service headquarters. As part of this process, all directors are being asked to identify efficiency savings of around 20 per cent. of headcount by March 2007.

Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire of 7 September, 11 November and 9 December 2004 regarding Mr. Roger Huxtable, ref M17775/4.

Hazel Blears: A written reply has been issued to the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire on 24 February.

Crime

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the recent statement by West Midlands police on the force's ability to detect crime.

Hazel Blears: The sanction detections rate for West Midlands police was 25.0 per cent. in March 2004, which compares with a rate of 25.8 per cent. in March 2003. Despite this small decline in the sanction detections rate,, the West Midlands force continues to perform well when compared with their peer group of similar constabularies. The average sanction detections rate of the forces against whom the West Midlands force is compared was 20.5 per cent. in both March 2003 and March 2004.
	The Government acknowledges the need to raise sanction detections performance across all police forces. For that reason, a major drive has been under way since last summer with the aim of achieving a significant increase in sanction detection rates. Provisional data for 2004–05 shows that this concerted effort has already resulted in performance improvements and we are hopeful that all forces, including the West Midlands, will benefit from this.

Criminal Justice

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which recommendations of the O'Dowd report remain unimplemented because of a need for (a) legislation, (b) developments in IT and (c) wide-ranging changes in the criminal justice system; and what steps are being taken to adopt these recommendations.

Hazel Blears: The outstanding recommendations that require legislation are as follows:
	To remove the bureaucracy concerned with producing documents at a police station.
	To pass to local authorities responsibility for dealing with stray dogs and other animals.
	To pass to local authorities responsibility for dealing with gaming and betting regulation.
	To pass to local authorities responsibility for dealing with abandoned non-stolen vehicles.
	The outstanding recommendations that require developments in information technology are as follows:
	To rollout NSP1S Custody and Case applications.
	To make best use of remote access to information.
	To implement biometric facial technology.
	The outstanding recommendations that require wide-ranging changes in the criminal justice system are as follows:
	To improve the court listing process.
	To address blockages in the criminal justice system.
	Good progress has already been made and we are working closely with the police and key stakeholders to deliver each of these recommendations as soon as practicable.

Cycling Offences

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for cycling on the pavement there have been in (a) the London borough of Enfield, (b) Greater London and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The number of convictions for cycling on the footpath (pavement) in the London borough of Enfield, Greater London and England and Wales, 1999–2003 is provided in the table.
	Statistics on convictions for 2004 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Number of persons convicted at magistrates courts for riding a bicycle on the footpath (pavement), 1999–2003(34)
		
			 Offence description Principal statute  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Riding on footpath Highways Act 1835 Sec. 72; (as amended by Local Government Act 1888 S. 85(1) the Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1888, Highways Act 1959 Sch. 25, Criminal Justice Acy 1967, 3rd Sch. and Criminal Justice Act 1982, ss 39 and 46 and Sch. 3); Metropolitan police Act, 1839, Sec. 54(7) and Byelaws London borough of Enfield — — 1 — — 
			   Greater London 37 9 9 9 7 
			   England and Wales 323 171 112 79 82 
		
	
	(34) These data are on the principal offence basis.

Dispersal Orders

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders have been made in the Metropolitan police area; and what assessment he has made of their effects on reducing (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) criminal offences in each zone.

Hazel Blears: The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that, between January and December 2004, the Metropolitan police authorised 61 dispersal areas under section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. In these areas 3,312 people were dispersed and 149 young people under the age of 16 were taken home.
	It is too early to draw firm conclusions but the Metropolitan police believe them to be an effective tool to tackle instances of antisocial behaviour. The Metropolitan police and local authorities are conducting their own evaluations of the use of the power in their areas and will be reviewing their findings on a case-by-case basis in order to identify good practice.

Fixed Penalty Notices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2005, Official Report, columns 113–14W, on fixed penalty notices, how many of each of the categories of fixed penalty notices have been collected.

Hazel Blears: The table gives the number of notices issued, by offence, by Essex police in 2004, to the end of November, with the proportion of notices notified to the Home Office as being paid.
	If penalties are unpaid and a court hearing not requested within 21 days then a fine will be registered against the recipient of the penalty notice. The fine will then be enforced by the courts in the same way as any other fine. The Department for Constitutional Affairs has been taking action to significantly improve the collection of fines. The fine payment rate for the last quarter of 2004 was 80 per cent.
	
		Penalty notices for disorder issued in Essex from January to November 2004(35), and percentage paid, by offence(36)
		
			 Offence Number issued Percentage paid 
		
		
			 Breach of fireworks curfew 1 100 
			 Causing harassment, alarm or distress 1,651 61 
			 Consume alcohol in designated public place 8 13 
			 Destroying/damaging property (max £500) 31 68 
			 Drunk and disorderly 683 58 
			 Drunk in highway 24 58 
			 Knowingly giving false alarm 1 0 
			 Possession by under 18 of adult firework 2 100 
			 Possession of Category 4 firework 1 0 
			 Purchase of alcohol in bar in licensed  premises for person under 18 — — 
			 Sending false messages 10 40 
			 Theft (retail under £200) 54 52 
			 Throwing fireworks 5 60 
			 Throwing stones at a train 2 50 
			 Trespassing on a railway 11 45 
			 Wasting police time 36 56 
			 Total 2,520 60 
		
	
	(35) Figures have risen since 24 January due to receipt of late returns.
	(36) Provisional figures.

Knives

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for offences relating to knives and swords there have been in courts in (i) York, (ii) North Yorkshire police force area and (iii) England in each year since 1995.

Paul Goggins: The available information contained in the table gives the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences where a bladed article is mentioned in the offence description, at: York petty sessional area, North Yorkshire police force area and England 1995 to 2003.
	
		Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences related to "bladed articles" 1995 to 2003(37)
		
			  Having an article with a blade or  point in a public place Having an article with a blade or  point on school premises Selling a bladed article to a person  under 16 years of age 
			 Location/Year Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty 
		
		
			 York petty sessional area(38)
			 1995 13 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996 20 14 — — — — 
			 1997 23 17 — — — — 
			 1998 17 17 1 1 — — 
			 1999 17 15 — — — — 
			 2000 22 15 — — — — 
			 2001 27 13 — — — — 
			 2002 29 23 — — — — 
			 2003 28 20 — — — — 
			
			 North Yorkshire police force area
			 1995 26 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996 37 25 — — — — 
			 1997 47 37 — — — — 
			 1998 37 32 2 2 — — 
			 1999 52 45 — — — — 
			 2000 54 33 — — — — 
			 2001 64 45 — — — — 
			 2002 65 52 — — — — 
			 2003 63 50 — — 3 3 
			
			 England   
			 1995 3,338 2,465 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996 3,429 2,563 17 12 2 2 
			 1997 4,255 3,186 23 19 2 2 
			 1998 4,614 3,595 20 16 2 2 
			 1999(39) 4,297 3,323 9 8 3 2 
			 2000(39) 4,388 3,339 18 17 — — 
			 2001(39) 5,493 4,104 22 22 9 8 
			 2002(39) 6,539 5,027 20 17 11 10 
			 2003(39) 6,535 5,077 25 29 17 17 
		
	
	n/a = Not applicable (These offences only became identifiable on the Home Office Court Proceedings database in 1996).
	(37) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(38) Includes convictions at the Crown Court where York PSA was the committing court.
	(39) Excludes prosecution and conviction data for West Mercia police force area due to coding errors.

Knives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife-related assaults were recorded in 2004 in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency.

Hazel Blears: The information is not collected centrally. The number of assaults involving the use of a knife cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime statistics.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department is making with the proposed introduction of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) became operational on 1 June 2004 with Martin Narey as Chief Executive. Since then a National Offender Manager and 10 Regional Offender Managers have been appointed. Together they are taking forward the development of offender management in their areas, drawing on emerging good practice and what we have already learnt from the offender management pilots in the north-west. A re-design of NOMS headquarters, to reflect these changes, will be in place by 1 April 2005. Further work is also being taken forward to develop contestability and to determine what organisational design might best suit the service's future needs.

Offences

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted of offences in the United Kingdom between 11 September 2001 and 31 December 2004.

Hazel Blears: Within England and Wales information on arrests collected centrally is based on persons arrested for 'notifiable' offences. Data are collected for quarterly periods only and the figures in the table are therefore from October 2001.
	Statistics on defendants charged in England and Wales are not collected centrally. The available information from the Home Office Court Proceedings database gives the number of defendants proceeded against at the magistrates and convicted at all courts. The figures given in the table are for notifiable offences from October 2001 onwards, for comparability with the arrest figures. Figures for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.
	Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for, respectively, the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Office.
	
		Persons arrested, prosecuted or convicted for 'notifiable' offences, England and Wales
		
			  Number 
			 Period Arrests Prosecutions(40) Convictions(40) 
		
		
			 October 2001 to December 2003 2,942,900 1,432,511 946,699 
			 October 2001 to March 2004 3,280,600 n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	(40) Information up to December 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.

Parliamentary Questions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Meriden on 10 January, references 207956 and 207957.

Hazel Blears: The questions were answered on 23 February 2005, Official Report, columns 734–36W.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the question, reference 201648, tabled for answer on 1 December 2004.

Paul Goggins: I replied to the hon. Member on 9 March 2005, Official Report, column 1483W.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the question, reference 202240, tabled for answer on 6 December 2004.

Paul Goggins: I replied to the hon. Member on 9 March 2005, Official Report, column 1612W.

Parole

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those eligible for parole were (a) granted parole and (b) broke the conditions of parole in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: The number of determinate cases considered by the Parole Board and recommended for parole in each year since 1997 has been published in table 10.4 of the publication "Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003". The number of persons recalled from parole from determinate sentences has been published in table 10.8 of the same volume. A copy of the publication is available in the Library.

Parole

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in (a) Essex and (b) England and Wales were eligible for parole in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The number of determinate sentence parole reviews in (a) Essex prisons and (b) England and Wales, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system, is provided in the table.
	
		Determinate sentence parole reviews(41), 1997–98 to 2003–04
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 England and Wales
			 Eligible 5,895 6,883 7,266 6,662 6,640 7,032 7,005 
			 Existing prisoners 535 271 112 57 34 19 10 
			 DCR prisoners 5,360 6,612 7,154 6,605 6,606 7,013 6,995 
			 
			 Essex prisons
			 Eligible 18 23 16 22 19 21 28 
			 Existing prisoners — 1 — — — — — 
			 DCR prisoners 18 22 16 22 19 21 28 
		
	
	(41) Including prisoners who declined consideration.

Police

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the change in the rate of stop and searches of people of Asian origin since 2001.

Hazel Blears: For the period 2001–02 to 2003–04 the year on year change in the rate of people of Asian origin stopped and searched in England and Wales per 1,000 population aged 10 and over is as follows.
	
		Percentage
		
			  2001–02 to 2002–03 2002–03 to 2003–04 
		
		
			 Section 1 PACE 1984 +35.2 -8.6 
			 Section 60 Criminal Justice and  Public Order Act 1994 +60.0 -18.6 
			 Section 44 Terrorism Act 2000 +366.7 +21.4 
		
	
	Source:
	Research, Development and Statistics—Office for Criminal Justice Reform
	The Government are committed to reducing disproportionality and increasing the confidence that the black and minority ethnic community has in the way the police use stop and search. In order to benefit as much as possible from the input of communities an independent Community Panel chaired by Lord Victor Adebowale was established in December 2004. The Community Panel provides advice to SSAT and the Delivery Board on the race and community impact of their work programme, and also acts as a scrutiny for their work.

Police (Child Abuse)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government will enforce the Association of Chief Police Officers' guidance on anonymity for individuals accused of child abuse by the media.

Hazel Blears: The Association of Chief Police Officers has issued revised guidance to all police forces making it absolutely clear that anyone under investigation but not charged should not be named, and no details should be provided to the press that might lead to their identification before they are charged. This applies to all offences, not just sexual abuse. It would be a serious disciplinary matter if any police officers were to transgress that guidance.
	The Press Complaints Commission also has safeguards in place against the publication of inaccurate or misleading information. The Press Complaints Commission guidance is enforced through complaints to the Commission about press reporting that breaches the Code. The Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Sexual Offending will examine the impact of the revised guidance after May 2005, when the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will have been in operation for 12 months.

Police Community Consultative Group

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost in (a) Essex and (b) Southend is of police (i) attendance and (ii) administration of police/community forums in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The Chief Constable of Essex police informs me that the cost of running Police Community Consultative Group (PCCG) meetings in Essex since 1997 is as set out in the table.
	
		Administration costs of Police Consultative Community Groupsin Essex
		
			  (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 18,100 
			 1998–99 18,600 
			 1999–2000 18,800 
			 2000–01 19,900 
			 2001–02 21,000 
			 2002–03 21,100 
			 2003–04 22,200 
			 2004–05 21,700 
		
	
	These figures relate to expenditure for room hire and salaries for relevant administrative staff. Records are not kept of the costs of operational officers and staff attending PCCG meetings as part of their normal duties.
	Costs are not available at Basic Command Unit level.

Police (Kent)

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers were employed in the North Kent Division of Kent Police in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information on strength at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March for each year. Information on BCU strength is only available from 2002 and is set out in the table. The deployment of officers to BCUs is a matter for the Chief Constable (Mr. Michael Fuller) and within the North Kent Division deployment of officers is a matter for the Divisional Commander.
	Information on the number of community support officers (CSOs) has been provided by the chief constable. The first CSOs were deployed to North Kent in 2002–03. The information provided for CSOs is also set out in the following table.
	
		North Kent division
		
			 As at 31 March Number of police officers(42) Number of community support officers 
		
		
			 2002 342 Not applicable 
			 2003 363 2 
			 2004 399 8 
			 2005 Not available 17 
		
	
	Source:
	(42) Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate for 2003 onwards. March 2002 data was collected by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
	The number of police officers deployed to the North Kent division has increased by 57 officers, or by nearly 17 per cent., since March 2002. The increase in the number of police officers for North Kent has significantly exceeded the overall increase in police officer numbers for the Kent police of 7 per cent. for the same period (March 2002 to March 2004).

Police Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total amount held for each police authority in England in reserves or balances for (a) capital and (b) revenue was in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04; and what the figures were as a percentage of annual expenditure.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 27 January 2005
	Available information on revenue reserves, which include balances, has been placed in the Library. Details of capital reserves could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police Finance

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure the accuracy of data used in the calculation of grant entitlements for Derbyshire Police Authority for the financial year 2005–06.

Hazel Blears: The data used in the calculation of grant entitlements come from a variety of different sources and the validation of data varies accordingly.
	In many cases, data providers, such as the Office for National Statistics, will undertake validation. The Office for the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) checks data used in the calculation of grant entitlement as part of the wider local government finance settlement calculations by comparing supplied data year on year. Where appropriate, ODPM then queries any anomalies with the Department or body responsible for supplying the data.
	All data used is provided as part of the local government finance consultation.

Police Funding

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of police funding per head of population has been for (a) Greater Manchester and (b) Dorset in each year from 1998–99.

Hazel Blears: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column 1008W, to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman).

Police Funding

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales are receiving funding (a) above the formula funding level, (b) at the formula funding level and (c) below the formula funding level; and what action he is taking to ensure that all forces receive funding in line with the formula.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 7 March 2005
	Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distributes resources on the basis of relative need and resources. A damping mechanism subsequently applied to protect all authorities against financial instability ensures all authorities receive an increase in grant at least equal to the "floor" level on a like-for-like basis year-on-year. Grant floors are an integral part of the finance system.
	In 2005–06, every police authority will receive the amount of grant to which it is entitled under "The Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2005/06", "The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2005/06", and "The Local Government Finance Report No 2 2005/06" for Wales.
	In 2004–05, all police authorities received a grant increase around 3.25 per cent. For 2005–06 it has been possible to reintroduce recognition of relative need, and grant increases range from the floor of 3.75 per cent. to 6.81 per cent. Grant provisions before and after damping are given in the following table.
	We are currently reviewing the funding formulae and will be consulting local authorities during the summer of 2005 on the formulae for the 2006–07 settlement.
	
		£ million
		
			  2005–06 allocation: 
			 Police authority Before damping(43) After damping(43) Effect of damping 
		
		
			 Surrey 77.2 91.5 14.3 
			 Essex 153.3 167.0 13.6 
			 Sussex 152.1 164.0 11.9 
			 Kent 177.9 189.5 11.5 
			 South Wales(45) 165.1 174.5 9.5 
			 Hampshire 192.7 197.7 4.9 
			 Hertfordshire 104.1 108.8 4.7 
			 Dorset 61.8 66.0 4.2 
			 Thames Valley 216.5 220.6 4.1 
			 North Yorkshire 72.6 75.4 2.9 
			 West Mercia 109.3 111.8 2.5 
			 Staffordshire 111.0 113.3 2.3 
			 Merseyside 255.6 257.7 2.1 
			 North Wales(45) 76.3 78.3 1.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 171.2 173.0 1.8 
			 South Yorkshire 184.1 185.7 1.6 
			 Derbyshire 103.7 105.0 1.3 
			 Dyfed-Powys(45) 51.0 52.2 1.3 
			 Gloucestershire 59.8 61.1 1.3 
			 Gwent(45) 72.9 74.1 1.2 
			 Wiltshire 61.7 62.9 1.2 
			 Cumbria 61.0 62.1 1.1 
			 Durham 86.9 87.8 0.9 
			 Suffolk 67.6 68.5 0.8 
			 Humberside 118.2 118.9 0.7 
			 Cheshire 110.8 111.3 0.4 
			 Norfolk 86.0 85.9 -0.2 
			 Warwickshire 52.0 51.8 -0.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 133.9 133.3 -0.5 
			 Bedfordshire 65.7 65.1 -0.6 
			 Lincolnshire 64.0 63.4 -0.6 
			 Cleveland 91.9 90.9 -1.0 
			 Lancashire 192.1 190.8 -1.3 
			 Northamptonshire 69.2 67.8 -1.4 
			 Leicestershire 109.8 107.7 -2.1 
			 Avon and Somerset 172.2 170.0 -2.2 
			 Cambridgeshire 80.1 77.9 -2.2 
			 Northumbria 235.4 232.2 -3.2 
			 West Yorkshire 318.3 313.6 -4.6 
			 Greater Manchester 418.3 412.5 -5.8 
			 West Midlands 442.3 426.5 -15.8 
			 GLA—Police 1976.3 1927.8 -48.5 
		
	
	(43) Rounded to the nearest £100,000. Calculated using the Police Funding Formula 2005–06.
	(44) Rounded to the nearest £100,000. Calculated under the Police Grant Report (England and Wales), the Local Government Finance Report (England) and The Local Government Finance Report No 2 for Wales. Figures include the effects of floor damping.
	(45) Because the Welsh Assembly does not operate a grant damping mechanism ('funding floor and ceiling'), the Home Secretary has for several years provided additional funding to ensure Welsh police authorities receive at least a minimum increase in grant in line with English authorities. A total of £13.9 million will be allocated to Welsh police authorities in 2005–06 to bring their allocations in line with the grant floor level.
	(46) Figures for the City of London Police are excluded because these are allocated to the Common Council of the City of London as a whole in respect of all its functions. The City is grouped with Education Authorities for grant damping purposes.

Police Officers' Families (Crime Investigations)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are given to police authorities on conducting investigations into crimes when a member of a police officer's family is being questioned concerning the incident.

Hazel Blears: There are no specific guidelines given to police authorities regarding investigations into crimes involving members of a police officer's family. Police authorities are responsible for ensuring an effective and efficient police service in the UK and any investigation into a criminal offence would be dealt with by the force in question as an operational matter. Each police force is required to act within statute and any deviation from this could result in disciplinary proceedings. If however the member of the police officer's family, who is being questioned, is an officer themselves then there are internal police regulations which would be followed.

Prisons

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are estimated to suffer from mental health problems in prisons in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) undertook a survey of mental ill health in the prison population of England and Wales in 1997. A copy of the survey is available on the ONS website at www.statistics.gov.uk.

Prisons

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend Prison Service Order 1170 in the light of the decision in Regina (on behalf of the Howard League for Penal Reform) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Paul Goggins: I have confirmed that this question relates to Prison Service Order 1700 which deals with the segregation of prisoners for reasons of good order or discipline or at the prisoner's own request, and that the court case is that of 'SP', a female juvenile trainee.
	Following the judgment delivered on 23 June 2004 in the case by Mr. Justice Jack, and pending the appeal to the Court of Appeal, the Prison Service issued guidance on 23 September 2004 to Governors requiring them to comply with the Court's decision, that, where circumstances allow, juveniles should be given the opportunity to make representations against segregation before being segregated.
	(The Court of Appeal upheld Mr. Justice Jack's judgment. The Prison Service will amend Prison Service Order 1700 to reflect the interim guidance already issued).

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the In Use Certified National Accommodation was changed in January 2005 at (a) HMP Edmunds Hill, (b) HMP Bullwood Hall, (c) HMP Dovegate, (d) HMP Dover, (e) HMP Foston Hall, (f) HMP Highdown, (g) HMP Hindley, (h) HMP Holloway, (i) HMP Liverpool, (j) HMP Northallerton, (k) HMP Onley, (l) HMP Pentonville and (m) HMP Wetherby; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Changes to prison capacity occur on a regular basis as, for example, prison wings are taken out of use for maintenance or refurbishment and later brought back into service. In January 2005, action was taken to reduce overcrowding in particular establishments, and we reduced the overall operational capacity of the estate by taking some accommodation due for refurbishment out of use slightly earlier than planned. The changes to In Use certified normal accommodation (CNA 1 ) recorded in January at each of the prisons listed were:
	1 In Use CNA is the uncrowded capacity of the estate after adjusting for accommodation that is out of use.
	
		
			 Prison Change to In Use CNA and reason for change 
		
		
			 Edmunds Hill Reduced by 148 places when the function of the prison was changed from female to male. Three of the accommodation units are out of use, but can be brought into use when required. 
			 Bullwood Hall Reduced by 13 places while E-wing is temporarily used to house the education department. 
			 Dovegate Reduced by 58 places to correct an error on the cell certificate. 
			 Dover(47) Reduced by 55 places while the Romney Unit is refurbished. 
			 Foston Hall Reduced by 44 places as a surplus of capacity in the female estate enabled D-wing to be temporarily taken out of use as an economy measure. 
			 Highdown Reduced by 16 places for electrical rewiring programme. 
			 Hindley Reduced by 82 while A-wing is refurbished. 
			 Holloway Reduced by 20 while the DO unit is refurbished. 
			 Liverpool Reduced by 18 while general refurbishment takes place. 
			 Northallerton Reduced by 75 while accommodation is repaired following storm damage. 
			 Onley Reduced by 60 while B-wing is refurbished as part of a rolling programme. 
			 Pentonville Reduced by 21 while R-wing is refurbished. 
			 Wetherby Reduced by 10 for a small rolling refurbishment programme. 
		
	
	(47) Dover is an immigration removal centre managed by the Prison Service on behalf of the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Prisons

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial saving will be made by moving control of privately run prisons from Her Majesty's Prison Service to the Correctional Services Unit in the Home Office.

Paul Goggins: The cost of establishing the Office for Contracted Prisons, part of the Home Office, to oversee the operation of private prisons, was broadly cost neutral. Better contract and operational management have resulted in improved service delivery.

Prisons

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason control of privately run prisons moved from Her Majesty's Prison Service to the Corrections Services Unit within the Home Office.

Paul Goggins: Responsibility for the control of private prisons transferred to the Office for Contracted Prisons in May 2003 as part of the move to create a single correctional service. By doing so it created increased consistency and transparency of custodial services provided by the public and private sectors.

Prisons

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the cost of moving control of privately run prisons from Her Majesty's Prison Service to the Correction Services Unit within the Home Office.

Paul Goggins: The transfer of control of private prisons to the Office for Contracted Prisons in May 2003 was broadly cost neutral. Controller costs were transferred without change. Operating costs of OCP HQ were offset by compensatory savings in the public sector Prison Service.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes were made to (a) the baseline Certified National Accommodation (CNA), (b) in use CNA and (c) operational capacity at (i) HMP Wolds, (ii) HMP Altcourse, (iii) HMP Forest Bank and (iv) HMP Lowdham Grange in January; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 10 March 2005
	Changes to prison capacity occur on a regular basis as, for example, prison wings are taken out of use for maintenance or refurbishment and later brought back into service. In January 2005, action was taken to reduce overcrowding in particular establishments, and we reduced the overall operational capacity of the estate by taking some accommodation due for refurbishment out of use slightly earlier than planned. Details of the reasons for changes in operational capacity, baseline CNA, and In-use CNA are given in the table.
	
		
			 Establishment Reasons for changes in Baseline Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA), In-use CNA, and Operational Capacity 
		
		
			 Wolds Operational capacity reduced by 10 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. An increase of 20 in both baseline and in use CNA G wing coming into use. 
			 Altcourse Operational capacity reduced by 121 places due to temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. No change in baseline or in use CNA. 
			 Forest Bank Operational capacity reduced by 24 places due to temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. No change in baseline or in use CNA. 
			 Lowdham Grange Operation capacity reduced by 24 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. No change in baseline or in use CNA. 
		
	
	Note:
	Operational capacity is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold without serious risk to good order, security and the proper running of the planned regime. Baseline CNA is the sum total of all certified accommodation in an establishment except, cells in punishment or segregation units, healthcare cells or rooms in training prisons and YOIs that are not routinely used to accommodate long stay patients. In-use CNA is baseline CNA less those places not available for immediate use, for example: damaged cells, cells affected by building works, and cells taken out of use due to staff shortages

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the operational capacity was changed in January at (a) HMP Edmunds Hill, (b) HMP Northallerton, (c) HMP Altcourse, (d) HMP Hindley, (e) HMP Rye Hill, (f) HMP Onley, (g) HMP Dovegate, (h) HMP Dover, (i) HMP Mount, (j) HMP Foston Hall, (k) HMP Liverpool, (l) HMP Forest Bank, (m) HMP Lowdham Grange, (n) HMP Holloway, (o) HMP Pentonville, (p) HMP Bullwood Hall, (q) HMP Highdown, (r) HMP Wetherby and (s) HMP Wolds; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 10 March 2005
	Changes to prison capacity occur on a regular basis as, for example, prison wings are taken out of use for maintenance or refurbishment and later brought back into service. In January 2005, action was taken to reduce overcrowding in particular establishments, and we reduced the overall operational capacity of the estate by taking some accommodation due for refurbishment out of use slightly earlier than planned. Details of the reasons for changes in operational capacity are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Establishment Reason for change in operational capacity 
		
		
			 Edmunds Hill Reduced by 150 places when the function of was changed from a female to male prison in January 2005. Accommodation units 1, 2 and 3 will be brought into use as required. 
			 Northallerton Reduced by 128 places while accommodation is being repaired following storm damage. 
			 Altcourse Reduced by 121 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Hindley Reduced by 82 places while A-wing is refurbished. 
			 Rye Hill Reduced by 64 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Onley Reduced by 60 places while B-wing is refurbished as part of a rolling programme. A rolling programme of wing refurbishment is in progress. 
			 Dovegate Reduced by 58 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Dover(48) Reduced by 55 places while Romney unit is refurbished. 
			 Mount Reduced by 52 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Foston Hall Reduced by 51 places as a surplus of capacity in the female estate enabled D-wing has been temporarily taken out of use as an economy measure. 
			 Liverpool Reduced by 35 places while general refurbishment work takes place. 
			 Forest Bank Reduced by 24 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Lowdham Grange Reduced by 24 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
			 Holloway Reduced by 18 places while DO unit is refurbished. 
			 Pentonville Reduced by 16 places while R-wing is refurbished. 
			 Bullwood Hall Reduced by 13 places while E-wing is temporarily used to house the education department. 
			 Highdown Reduced by 11 places for electrical rewiring programme. 
			 Wetherby Reduced by 10 places for a small rolling refurbishment programme. 
			 Wolds Reduced by 10 places due to a temporary reduction in overcrowding levels. 
		
	
	(48) Dover is an immigration removal centre managed by the Prison Service on behalf of the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
	Note:
	Operational capacity is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold without serious risk to good order, security and the proper running of the planned regime.

Probation Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in the National Probation Service are absent from work through stress or stress-related illness; and from what grades.

Paul Goggins: Stress-related absence is not currently recorded separately across the 42 employing Boards, but a requirement to record stress-related absence will be introduced in the near future.
	The National Probation Directorate, through its National Health and Safety Forum that comprises employers, trade unions and subject experts, has just issued a national policy in reduction of stress that conforms to the Health and Safety Executive standards.

Probation Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether work being undertaken on the Probation Workload Management Tool in the National Probation Service will be incorporated into the requirements for the National Offender Management Information Systems (NOMIS) programme.

Paul Goggins: An independent OGC consultant is currently reviewing the business case for the Workload Measurement Tool Project. His conclusions will inform decisions about the future of the project, including if and how the work can be incorporated into the National Offender Management Information System programme.

Probation Service

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation officers were dismissed in (a) Southend, (b) Essex and (c) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Information on reasons for leaving, including dismissals, is not currently recorded separately across the 42 employing Boards. The content of and process for collecting workforce information centrally is currently under review and will be amended in the near future.

Probation Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether performance by the National Probation Service against its performance measure on compliance with orders improved (a) during 2003–04 and (b) between April and September 2004.

Paul Goggins: The level of compliance with orders was 56 per cent. in April 2003, rising to 58 per cent. in June 2003. Cumulatively for 2003–04 a figure of 56 per cent. was achieved. Compliance improved in the period April to September 2004, reaching 61 per cent. in July 2004 alone and 59 per cent. cumulatively for the six-month period.
	The monthly and cumulative figures for the two periods are set out in tables 1 and 2.
	
		Table 1: 2003–04
		
			 Month Compliance: Orders only (percentage) 
		
		
			 April 2003 56 
			 May 2003 54 
			 June 2003 53 
			 July 2003 58 
			 August 2003 56 
			 September 2003 55 
			 October 2003 57 
			 November 2003 55 
			 December 2003 56 
			 January 2004 56 
			 February 2004 57 
			 March 2004 56 
			 Total 56 
		
	
	
		Table 2: 2004–05 (April-September)
		
			 Month Compliance: Orders only (percentage) 
		
		
			 April 2004 57 
			 May 2004 59 
			 June 2004 59 
			 July 2004 61 
			 August 2004 58 
			 September 2004 58 
			 Total 59

Probation Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the £300 million that has been allocated centrally to the Probation Service for 2005–06 will be spent.

Paul Goggins: The £300 million not included in Probation Boards' main resource allocations is being spent as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Electronic monitoring 79 
			 Approved premises 54 
			 Training Probation Officers 57 
			 Special allocations to probation boards 39 
			 Information Technology and Estates 36 
			 National Probation Directorate Staffing 15 
			 Other central probation costs (new developments,  research, loan charges, etc.) 45 
			 Total 325

Securities Industry Authority

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for accreditation under the Securities Industry Act have (a) been received and (b) processed by the Securities Industry Authority; what estimates have been made of the number of accredited door staff which are required by the leisure industry; and what assessment has been made of whether it will be necessary to extend the final implementation date of the scheme.

Hazel Blears: The total number of applications for Security Industry Authority (SIA) door supervisor licenses to date is 22,729. Of these, 18,893 have been accepted by the SIA and have been or are being processed.
	It is difficult to obtain a totally reliable estimate of the number of door supervisors required by the leisure industry; current SIA estimates, based on information supplied by the police and local authorities place the figure at 46,000.
	There are currently no plans to extend the final implementation date.

Securities Industry Authority

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to audit the performance of the Security Industry Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Comptroller and Auditor General was appointed as the external auditor to the Security Industry Authority by virtue of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, schedule 1 16(4).

Securities Industry Authority

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers the Security Industry Authority has available to ensure that the 20 March 2006 deadline for the licensing of security personnel is met; what powers it has to assist the police in ensuring that the deadline is met; and what plans he has to grant additional powers to the authority in this respect.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The licensing of individuals who work as manned guards in the private security industry is due to commence shortly. Regional Security Industry Authority (SIA) investigators will work collaboratively with police and local authorities, managing and sharing intelligence information to ensure that maximum compliance is met by the 20 March 2006 deadline.
	From that date anyone operating as a manned guard in the private security industry in England and Wales without a licence could face a range of penalties from a formal warning to prosecution.
	No additional powers will be granted to the SIA in this respect at this time.

Security Expenditure (Islington)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of expenditure on (a) policing, (b) crime prevention and (c) local security measures per capita in the borough of Islington for each year since 1996–97; and what contribution was made by the London borough of Islington.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 21 December 20004
	The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the policing budget per capita in Islington borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) was as follows.
	
		
			  Budget per capita in Islington BOCU1 (£) 
		
		
			 1999–2000(50) 127 
			 2000–01 129 
			 2001–02 134 
			 2002–03 146 
			 2003–04 176 
			 2004–05 188 
		
	
	(49) 2001 Census population estimate of 175,797 people in the London borough of Islington.
	(50) No earlier information is available due to a change in the force's financial system.
	The figures reflect direct operational costs. In addition, BOCUs are able to call upon all-London units (such as dog sections, Territorial Support Group, Traffic and Air Support Units) when operational priorities dictate.
	I understand that expenditure on crime prevention and local security measures per capita and details of the contribution made by London borough of Islington are not available.

Special Constables

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in each London borough on 1 January in each of the last six years.

Hazel Blears: The data requested has been collected centrally only since March 2003. The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 MET BCUs 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 14 14 
			 Barnet 41 38 
			 Bexley 27 74 
			 Brent 28 29 
			 Bromley 14 12 
			 Camden 21 28 
			 Central Services 18 18 
			 City of Westminster 64 85 
			 Croydon 23 17 
			 Ealing 16 21 
			 Enfield 25 20 
			 Greenwich 16 17 
			 Hackney 13 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 18 20 
			 Haringey 12 13 
			 Harrow 16 13 
			 Havering 26 29 
			 Heathrow 9 7 
			 Hillingdon 19 15 
			 Hounslow 20 18 
			 Islington 35 39 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 15 14 
			 Kingston upon Thames 16 15 
			 Lambeth 21 20 
			 Lewisham 14 13 
			 Merton 17 17 
			 Newham 18 16 
			 Redbridge 19 17 
			 Richmond upon Thames 21 19 
			 Southwark 17 18 
			 Sutton 7 6 
			 Tower Hamlets 14 17 
			 Waltham Forest 19 16 
			 Wandsworth 19 15 
			 City of London BCUs   
			 Bishopsgate 20 28 
			 Central Services 1 2 
			 Snowhill 21 24

Stolen Vehicles

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in implementing the recommendation of the Association of Chief Police Officers that all forces introduce a Managed Vehicle Recovery and Storage Scheme to aid the recovery of stolen vehicles.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 25 February 2005
	Since 1992 most police forces have developed contract schemes on the lines suggested by a review undertaken by the Association of Chief Police Officers Traffic Committee Working Group in that year. These externally managed police vehicle recovery schemes appear to have been working effectively.

Surrey Police

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people are employed in the corporate development and human resources department of Surrey police;
	(2)  how much was spent on salaries for the corporate development and human resources department of Surrey police in financial year 2003–04.

Hazel Blears: This is a matter for the chief constable of the Surrey police and I have notified him of hon. Members questions.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce domestic burglary by 25 per cent. from 1998–99 levels by 2005 will be met;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to increase significantly the proportion of time spent by police forces on frontline duties;
	(3)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to improve the delivery of justice in all Criminal Justice System areas, with a greater increase in the worst performing areas.

Hazel Blears: Performance against the Home Department's targets is published in the annual report and the autumn performance report available at the House Library and on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to improve the performance of all police forces.

Hazel Blears: Performance against the Department's targets is published in the annual report and the autumn performance report available in the Library and on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to increase the level of confidence in the criminal justice system within ethnic communities;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to increase the satisfaction of victims and witnesses with the criminal justice system;
	(3)  whether the public service agreement target to maintain the current low rate of prisoner escapes, including category A escapes has been met;
	(4)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce re-offending by young offenders by 5 per cent;
	(5)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce re-offending by adults sentenced to imprisonment by 5 per cent.;
	(6)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce re-offending by adults sentenced to community sentences by 5 per cent.

Paul Goggins: Performance against the Home Department's targets is published in the annual report and the autumn performance report available in the Library and on the Home Office website www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the harm caused by drugs;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the use of class A drugs;
	(3)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the frequent use of any illicit drug among all young people under the age of 25 years;
	(4)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the use of illicit drugs by vulnerable young people;
	(5)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce drug-related crime.

Caroline Flint: Performance against my Department's targets is published in the annual report and the autumn performance report available at the House Library and on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Text Message Intercepts

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the security services have the ability to read the content of text messages sent by mobile telecommunications devices belonging to private individuals.

Hazel Blears: It is the long-standing policy of successive governments to neither confirm nor deny the activities of the intelligence and security agencies.

Transsexual Prisoners

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, columns 368–69W, on transsexual prisoners, when his Department will publish guidelines on the treatment of transsexual prisoners.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service hopes to publish these guidelines in late spring or early summer 2005.

Vehicle Checks

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the police may stop vehicles for random checks.

Hazel Blears: The police have a general power to stop motorists under section 163, Road Traffic Act 1988. This provides that a person driving a motor vehicle on a road must stop the vehicle on being instructed to do so by a police constable in uniform. The legislation does not require the officer to suspect an offence of any kind and the officer is not under a duty to give a reason for stopping the vehicle.
	Once a vehicle has stopped, it is a matter for the police officer concerned to decide what checks are appropriate and, where a specific statutory authority is needed for a particular check, to decide whether he has that authority.
	The police also have a power under section 4, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to set up roadblocks for the purposes of detecting crime or finding witnesses to crime. Any inquiries/checks conducted at the roadblock must be carried out in accordance with PACE Code of Practice A.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of China over its treatment of the practitioners of Falun Gong, with particular reference to the treatment of (a) Mingli He and (b) Xingyan Wei; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We regularly raise our concerns about the mistreatment of Falun Gong adherents in detention. We put forward our concerns most recently at the last round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue, held in Beijing on 22 November 2004. We also included a number of Falun Gong prisoners on our list of individual cases of concern handed over as part of the dialogue.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also raised concerns about the mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners in detention with Wang Zuo'an, Deputy Director General of the State Administration for Religious Affairs during his visit to the UK in September 2004.

China

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to China regarding the fate of the people detained in Tiananmen Square at the opening of China's National People's Council.

Jack Straw: holding answer 15 March 2005
	I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to him on 14 March 2005, Official Report, column 88W.

China

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) Russian and (b) Australian counterparts concerning the proposed lifting of the EU arms embargo on China with respect to the effects on (i) Chinese military capabilities, (ii) the political situation with regard to the Taiwan Strait and (iii) observance of human rights by the Chinese Government.

Jack Straw: holding answer 15 March 2005
	I have had no recent discussions with my Russian and Australian counterparts on the issue of the embargo.
	We take every appropriate opportunity to convey to the Taiwanese authorities, through informal channels, and to the Chinese Government our strong opposition to the use of force or to any action that raises cross-Strait tensions.
	We remain deeply concerned about human rights abuses in China and monitor the situation closely. We regularly raise our concerns with the Chinese Government.

China

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Chinese Anti-secession Bill; what discussions he has had with his (a) Chinese, (b) Taiwanese, (c) European and (d) US counterparts regarding the Bill and its implications for the region; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said today in response to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) (UIN 221355), Ministers have taken a close interest in the development of China's Anti-Secession legislation. We have discussed it at both ministerial and official level with the Chinese, the US and other EU member states and institutions. Officials have discussed the issue through informal channels with the Taiwanese authorities.
	The legislation enacted on 14 March is largely a codification of China's long-held position regarding Taiwan. The impact of the legislation will depend on the reaction of others and how China seeks to apply it.
	Although the legislation refers to China's desire to resolve the issue peacefully, we are concerned that it makes reference to the possibility of the use of "non-peaceful means". We remain strongly opposed to the use of force.
	The EU issued a Statement on 14 March appealing to both sides to avoid unilateral measures which might heighten tensions.

Colombia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Colombia regarding the death of Luis Eduardo Guerra and others at the San José de Apartado Peace Community in Uraba.

Bill Rammell: We are deeply shocked by the brutal killing of eight unarmed civilians. Our Embassy in Bogota has spoken to the judicial authorities and to Colombian Government representatives at the highest level to express our concerns regarding these killings. Luis Eduardo Guerra was a highly respected member of the Colombian NGO community and well known to our Embassy. I met him during my visit to Colombia in 2004. I welcome the Colombian Government's assurances that there will be an impartial, swift and effective investigation into these murders. Officials from the human rights unit in the Attorney-General's office, as well as forensic specialists and other officials, are in the area where the killings happened and are carrying out their investigation. This process includes interviews with members of the Peace Community, as well as all local army units, to try and establish the facts. We have also stressed to the Colombian authorities the need for proper protection to be given to witnesses of the crimes and of human rights defenders following the case. The Colombian authorities have assured us that such protection will be available to anyone who needs it. We continue to closely monitor the situation. Those responsible, whoever they may be, must be brought to justice.

Colombia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to President Uribe of Colombia on (a) human rights issues and (b) the conduct of the Colombian Army.

Bill Rammell: Human rights lie at the heart of our policy towards Colombia. We regularly raise with the Colombian Government specific human rights cases. Through our Embassy in Bogota, we monitor the human rights situation in Colombia, keeping in close contact with the Colombian authorities. I have highlighted the importance we attach to human rights with President Uribe and other senior Colombian officials during my visits to Colombia in 2003, 2004 and during my most recent visit last month. I reinforced this again when I met Defence Minister Uribe here in London on 11 February. We continue to urge the Colombian Government to implement all outstanding recommendations by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We have also made it plain that the armed forces must act in accordance with human rights and international humanitarian law, and have provided funding for training in these areas. Where members of the armed forces are proven to have committed human rights abuses they must be punished in accordance with the law. Impunity must not be allowed, a message we have also reiterated to the Colombians.

Company Standards

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the UN Norms on Business and Human Rights play in the setting of governance standards for UK and EU companies in domestic and global markets; and if he will make a statement on (a) the UK and (b) the EU position regarding the UN Norms.

Denis MacShane: The recent report from the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) on business and human rights notes that the UN Norms have the status of a "draft proposal". Therefore, the draft Norms have no formal or legal role in setting governance standards for business. However, through the Business Leaders' Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), a number of multinational companies have been "road-testing" the draft Norms, using the content to inform their codes of practice. This process will continue until December 2006. In addition, the FTSE4Good benchmark takes the draft Norms into account in its assessment of companies' performance. And some potential investors consider the draft Norms in their requirement for "human rights impact assessments".
	The UK continues to play a constructive role in the debate on corporate responsibility and human rights. While we see merit in clarifying minimum standards for business in relation to human rights, we believe, as does the OHCHR, that future action on this agenda should take into account the many codes and initiatives which exist in this field, rather than focussing exclusively on the draft Norms. These include the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, the International Labour Organisation Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy and the UN Global Compact.
	The UK will be active at the forthcoming Commission on Human Rights in seeking to ensure proper follow-up to the OHCHR's report. We firmly believe that this exercise should listen to the views of all stakeholders.

Dependent Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the status of each of the UK's overseas territories and Crown Dependencies will be under the EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The status of the UK's overseas territories and Crown Dependencies would not change under the EU Constitutional Treaty.

Dependent Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provisions are made for British overseas territories in the European Union Constitution.

Denis MacShane: A number of provisions are made for the overseas countries and territories (OCT) of the UK and other EU member states in the EU Constitutional Treaty. Articles III-286 to III-291 in Title IV Part III of the Constitutional Treaty set out the provisions relative to the association of certain overseas countries and territories with the European Union. These articles closely follow Articles 182 to 188 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). Annex II to the Constitutional Treaty contains the list of overseas countries and territories to which Title IV Part III of the Constitution applies. It is in substance the same as Annex II to the TEC.
	The following UK Overseas Territories are listed in Annex II to the Constitutional Treaty: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falklands Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena and Dependencies, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. Although listed as an OCT in the Annex, Bermuda has been excluded from successive Association instruments at its own request.
	The geographical extent of the Union is set out in Article IV-440 of the Constitutional Treaty which corresponds to Article 299 of the TEC, with modifications to take account of successive accessions. Gibraltar is covered by paragraph 4 of Article IV-440, in substance the same as Article 299.4 TEC. Section 1, Title II of Protocol 8 to the Constitutional Treaty sets out the specific provisions relating to Gibraltar. These were originally incorporated in the UK's 1972 Act of Accession.
	The Sovereign Base Areas are the subject of provisions set out in paragraph 6 (b) of Article IV-440 and Title III of Protocol 9 to the Constitutional Treaty. These provisions were originally set out in Article 299 6 (b) of the TEC and Protocol 3 to the 2003 Act of Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what events he plans to attend during the next three months relating to the EU Constitution; and what meetings are planned during the next three months at which departmental Ministers will speak on the EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: I and ministerial colleagues will be making the case for the EU Constitutional Treaty at various public events over the next few months. As part of my series of UK regional visits as Europe Minister to discuss European matters with local audiences, I will be answering questions on a range of European issues, including the EU Constitutional Treaty.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Electoral Commission on the date for the referendum on the European Constitution.

Denis MacShane: None.

European Union Bill

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons it was decided that a regulatory impact assessment was not needed for the European Union Bill.

Denis MacShane: Paragraph 71 of the Explanatory Notes [Bill 45-EN] incorrectly states that no Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the EU Bill was needed. In fact an RIA was undertaken, and placed in the Library of the House and on the internet at www.europe.gov.uk on 25 January when the Bill was introduced. The RIA concluded that—as the Notes state—there will be no direct or indirect regulatory burdens on business, charities or the voluntary sector.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions his Department has taken to maintain a strong economy in Gibraltar.

Denis MacShane: Economic development is a defined domestic matter for which the Government of Gibraltar is responsible.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had at the recent London meeting to support the Palestinian Authority on the impact of the separation barrier on water supplies and arable land.

Bill Rammell: The focus of the London Meeting was to help the Palestinian leadership strengthen the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. The meeting saw the Palestinian Authority put forward detailed plans for institutional renewal in the fields of security, governance and economic development. The participants agreed that achievement of the objectives set out in the London Meeting would constitute a major step towards the Palestinian Authority achieving its Roadmap commitments. Participants also urged and expected Israel to deliver on its Roadmap commitments.
	While we understand that Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, construction of the barrier on Palestinian land is unlawful, creates a physical obstacle to the two-state solution, and causes unacceptable humanitarian hardship for many Palestinians. My right hon. Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean raised our continuing concerns over the barrier's route with the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on 3 March during her visit to Israel.

Nepal

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Government of Nepal on democratic constitutional government; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Following the takeover of power by the King on 1 February I summoned the Nepalese ambassador to express our grave concern at developments. I also issued a public statement in which I set out our concern that the King's actions would increase the risk of instability in Nepal and undermine the institutions of democracy and constitutional monarchy in the country. In that statement I called for the immediate restitution of multi-party democracy. A copy of my statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases. Our ambassador in Kathmandu raised these issues directly with the King in an audience on 8 February.
	The UK also issued a statement with EU partners highlighting our concerns about restrictions on liberty and calling for human rights to be respected. With other EU member states' ambassadors our ambassador in Kathmandu also raised them with the new Nepalese Foreign Minister on 7 February.
	Such is the level of our concern that on 14 February my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recalled our ambassador in Nepal to London for consultations, following which we decided to withdraw a proposal, laid before Parliament in a minute of 20 January 2005, to gift a further tranche of military assistance to Nepal.
	Our ambassador has now returned to Nepal and will be seeking an early audience with the King to encourage him again to restore fundamental rights and release party leaders from detention as a first step towards restoring democracy and democratic process.

Non-proliferation Treaty

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the members of the UK delegation to the Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York in May; and what statement of proposals the UK Government intend to table.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him on 13 December 2004, Official Report, column 898W and 26 January 2005, Official Report, column 428W.

Nuclear Disarmament

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom stockpile which have been (a) withdrawn from service and (b) dismantled, (i) unilaterally and (ii) as a result of multilateral negotiations pursuant to United Kingdom obligations under Article six of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Denis MacShane: The UK has unilaterally withdrawn and dismantled all its nuclear weapons except those currently in service. We are the only nuclear weapon state to have reduced our capacity to one nuclear weapon system, Trident, and retain a stockpile of less than 200 operationally available warheads. There have been no multilateral negotiations to withdraw and dismantle nuclear weapons as part of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) process. However, alongside the important unilateral steps already referred to, we have pursued the practical steps agreed by States Parties to the Treaty for the systematic and progressive efforts to implement Article VI of the NPT.

Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what ways gender issues are being incorporated into the work of the tri-departmental Post-Conflict Reconstruction Unit.

Bill Rammell: The Government recognise the positive and distinct contribution that women can make to post-conflict stabilisation. The new inter-departmental Post-Conflict Reconstruction Unit (PCRU) has been asked to develop a capacity to identify best practice in gender-related issues and to consider gender-sensitive approaches in its planning and deployment.
	As part of its recent public consultation process, PCRU sought the advice of groups representing gender issues in conflict, including Widows for Peace and Democracy and Women Waging Peace. PCRU will now produce a report drawing together the results of the public consultation which will show how contributions, including those on gender, have shaped the establishment of the unit. The report is likely to propose that permanent consultation mechanisms are established to ensure that PCRU continue to receive external advice and opinions on issues such as gender.
	The PCRU will continue to develop its capacity through close consultation with civil society groups and the Women's National Commission—the Government's non- departmental advisory body on women—to ensure that gender is mainstreamed in post-conflict strategies. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will assist by providing country-specific advice as PCRU plans for deployments and briefing on UK Government work on women and conflict in international fora, such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Taiwan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the level of tension in the Taiwan Strait following the recent anti-secessionist legislation introduced by China; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 15 March 2005
	As the legislation was only passed on 14 March, its impact has scarcely been felt. Much will depend on the reaction of others and how China seeks to apply it.
	However, there is a risk that its introduction will slow or reverse the recent signs of progress in the relationship between China and Taiwan. We have made these concerns known to the Chinese and continue to watch developments closely. We continue to call on both sides to avoid unilateral actions which might heighten tensions. Although China has stressed its desire for a peaceful resolution of the issue, we are concerned that the legislation makes reference to the possibility of the use of "non-peaceful means". We strongly oppose the use of force and believe that the Taiwan question should be settled peacefully through negotiation between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) European Union, (b) United States, (c) Russian, (d) Australian and (e) Japanese counterparts concerning the recent anti-secessionist legislation to be used by China against Taiwan; when these discussions took place; and what the outcome was.

Jack Straw: holding answer 15 March 2005
	I and my Ministers have taken a close interest in the development of China's anti-secession legislation. Of those the right hon. Gentleman mentions, there have been discussions at both ministerial and official level with other EU member states and institutions and with the US this year. There have also been discussions with Japan and Australia between officials. These discussions resulted in a better understanding of the issues and closer positions.
	As a direct result of some of these discussions, the EU issued a statement on 14 March urging both sides to avoid unilateral measures which might heighten tensions.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the percentage of Ugandan gross domestic product spent on (a) health, (b) education, (c) agriculture and (d) defence; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Figures from the 2003–04 approved budget are as follows:
	
		
			  GDP (percentage) 
		
		
			 Health 2.9 
			 Education 4.5 
			 Agriculture 0.8 
			 Security (defence) 2.5 
		
	
	Uganda has a well-developed and consultative budgetary process. Donors are involved throughout, and have an opportunity to endorse the budget at the annual Public Expenditure Review. This level of consultation allows partners, including the UK, to ensure Government meets its commitment to prioritise poverty reduction. Budget execution is generally good and closely monitored by Government and donors, including the International Financial Institutions. Our Poverty Reduction Budget Support, and that of other partners such as the World Bank, is conditional on our endorsement of the budget and its subsequent execution.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the strength of the Ugandan Presidential Protection Brigade; whether the UK is offering it technical assistance; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: In our discussions with the Uganda Government concerning implementation of their Defence Review, they have declined to identify separately the Presidential Guard Brigade. We have given it no technical assistance.
	We apply strong controls in the management of our development assistance to Uganda to ensure it is used for the purposes for which it is intended. Security is required for sustainable development, but defence spending should be justified and affordable.

Uganda

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Ugandan Constitutional Amendment Bill 2005, with particular reference to the proposal to lift limits on presidential terms; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Given Uganda's past, it is important that any constitutional changes have the genuine confidence of the people and their representatives. The Constitutional Amendment Bill proposes significant revisions of a Constitution that is only 10 years old. We have urged that the Ugandan Parliament be allowed to vote on proposed amendments individually—including that relating to presidential terms—according to its established rules and in the spirit of provisions for change set out in Uganda's Constitution.

Uganda

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that groups in Uganda are recruiting, training and deploying militia for political purposes; what discussions he has had with Ugandan counterparts about such groups; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: There are reports of the reactivation of the Kalangala Action Plan, a pro-Government militia which was implicated in violence during the 2001 elections. We have raised our concerns with the Ugandan authorities. They have assured us that any illegal activity will bring immediate action by the police.
	There are also concerns that ethnic militia recruited to fight against the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda could be deployed in the 2006 elections. We have raised, and continue to raise, our concerns about this with the Government of Uganda and have urged them to bring all militias under the formal control of the army.